GMM 3 and 2 Rating Manual

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Talos Missile Page Table of Contents Table of Contents

INSIDE FRONT COVER
Gene Slover's US Navy Pages Gene Slover's US Navy Pages Phil Hays' Talos Missile Page Phil Hays' Talos Missile Page Table of Contents Table of Contents

PREFACE

This Rate Training Manual was written to serve as an aid for enlisted men of the U. S. Navy
and Naval Reserve who are preparing for advancement to the rates of Gunner's Mates M
(Missiles) 3 & 2. It is one of a series of Rate Training Manuals designed to give enlisted men
background information necessary for the proper performance of the duties of their rates.

The predominant factor in the selection of content for this publication has been the Manual of
Qualifications for Advancement, NavPers 10868C. When supplemented by practical experience
in the maintenance and repair of launching system equipment, this manual will help the GMM
meet the Qualifications for Advancement.

This manual was prepared for the Naval Training Support Command by the Naval Personnel
Program Support Activity, Training Publications Division, Washington, D.C. Acknowledgement
is made to the Naval Ordnance Systems Command, Washington, D.C.: Naval Examining Center,
Great Lakes, Illinois: and to the Gunner's Mates School, Great Lakes, Illinois, whose technical
review, comments, ideas, and suggestions
have been most helpful.

Published by
NAVAL TRAINING SUPPORT COMMAND

Revised 1972

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON D.C. : 1972

Stock Ordering No.
0502-050-9950
i

THE UNITED STATES NAVY

GUARDIAN OF OUR COUNTRY

The United States Navy is responsible for maintaining control of the sea
and is a ready force on watch at home and overseas, capable of strong
action to preserve the peace or of instant offensive action to win in war.

It is upon the maintenance of this control that our country's glorious
future depends; the United States Navy exists to make it so.

WE SERVE WITH HONOR

Tradition, valor, and victory are the Navy's heritage from the past. To
these may be added dedication, discipline, and vigilance as the watchwords
of the present and the future.

At home or on distant stations we serve with pride, confident in the respect
of our country, our shipmates, and our families.

Our responsibilities sober us; our adversities strengthen us.

Service to God and Country is our special privilege. We serve with honor.

THE FUTURE OF THE NAVY

The Navy will always employ new weapons, new techniques, and
greater power to protect and defend the United States on the sea, under
the sea, and in the air.

Now and in the future, control of the sea gives the United States her
greatest advantage for the maintenance of peace and for victory in war.

Mobility, surprise, dispersal, and offensive power are the keynotes of
the new Navy. The roots of the Navy lie in a strong belief in the
future, in continued dedication to our tasks, and in reflection on our
heritage from the past.

Never have our opportunities and our responsibilities been greater.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER Page

1. The Gunner's Mate (Missiles) Rating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Hitting A Moving Target From A Moving Ship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3. Principles Of Missile Flight And Jet Propulsion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4. Missile Guidance And Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

5. Guided Missile Launching Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

6. A Typical Gun And Missile Weapons System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

7. Applications Of Servomechanisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

8. Hydraulics And Pneumatics In Missile Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

9. Electrical Devices Used In Launching Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

10. Explosives, Pyrotechnics And Magazines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

11. Small Arms, Landing Party Equipment And Demolition. . . . . . . . 297

12. General Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

13. Common Test Equipment And Logical Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . 423

14. Launcher Checks, Missile Replenishment And Servicing. . . . . . . 455

15. Information: Input And Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

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Phillip Hays PhD LT USNR-R

April 2009

iv

CHAPTER 1

THE GUNNER'S MATE (MISSILES) RATING

This training manual has been prepared to help
men of the Navy and of the Naval Reserve meet
the occupational qualifications for advancement to
Gunner's Mate Missiles 3 & 2. The Gunner's Mate
qualifications used as a guide in the preparation of
this training manual are those contained in the
Manual of Qualifications for Advancement in
Rating, NavPers 18068-C. Therefore, the
qualifications pertaining to your rating are not
reproduced in this training manual. We suggest that
you study the latest changes and revisions listed in
NavPers 18068-C to get an idea of the scope of the
skills and knowledge you must have to advance in
rating.
This training manual has been organized in such
a way as to give you a systematic understanding of
your job. Chapter 2 discusses the fundamental fire
control problem presented by a projectile or a
guided missile. Chapter 3 introduces you to
missiles and rockets and their principles of flight.
Chapter 4 covers missile guidance and control
techniques. Chapter 5 presents the functional
requirements of guided missile launching systems.
Chapter 6 combines fire control, guns and missiles,
and launching systems into a weapons system. In
chapter 7 you will study servomechanisms. Chapter
8 describes the use of hydraulics and pneumatics in
missile systems. Chapter 9 describes many of the
electrical devices used in launching systems and
some of their applications therein. Since you are
required to handle explosives and know how to
maintain magazines, chapter 10 covers them. A
new qualification for the GMM rating - small arms,
landing party equipment and demolition - is
covered in chapter 11. Chapter 12 includes
information about general maintenance, such as
maintenance aids and procedures. Chapter 13
reviews common test equipment and some
troubleshooting hints. Chapter 14 discusses special
test equipment used in keeping launchers in top
working order. This chapter also covers several
methods of replenishing missile firing ships.
Chapter 15, the last chapter in this manual,
tells about the paper work you do and the many
sources of information needed to keep your
equipment in good operating condition. Many of
the publications you must use are classified. Basic
Military Requirements. NavPers 10054-C, gave
you basic rules for safeguarding classified
publications and material that you use in your
work.
The remainder of this chapter gives information
on the enlisted rating structure, the Gunner's Mate
rating, requirements and procedures for
advancement in rating, and references that will
help you in working for advancement and in
performing your duties as a G M. This chapter also
includes information on how to use Navy Rate
Training Manuals. Therefore, it is strongly
recommended that you study this chapter carefully
before beginning intensive study of the remainder
of this training manual.

THE ENLISTED RATING STRUCTURE

The two main types of ratings in the present
enlisted rating structure are general ratings and
service ratings.
GENERAL RATINGS identify broad
occupational fields of related duties and functions.
Some general ratings include service ratings; others
do not. Both Regular Navy and Naval Reserve
personnel may hold general ratings.
SERVICE RATINGS identify subdivisions or
specialties within a general rating. Although
service ratings can exist at any petty officer level,
they are most common at the PO3 and PO2 levels.
Both Regular Navy and Naval Reserve personnel
may hold service ratings.

THE GUNNER'S MATE RATING

Prior to the introduction of missiles and rockets
into the Navy, the Gunner's Mate rating was
covered under the abbreviation of GM. This
denoted the general rating to which all

1
GUNNER'S MATE M 3 & 2

Gunner's Mates belonged. The GM was the jack-
of-all-trades in the ordnance field.
When guided missiles were added to the Navy's
arsenal of weapons, the general rating of Gunner's
Mate was given the responsibility of maintaining
these systems. This action effectively bridged the
gap for a period of time. Eventually, however, a
decision was made to separate the general rating
into three service ratings. One of these is to
maintain gun and rocket launching systems and
Basic Point Defense Missile System. This rating is
designated GMG. Another service rating, GMM,
was assigned to maintain missile launching
systems, Still another service rating GMT, was
established to maintain nuclear weapons, and
recently, the ASROC launching group.
The GMT rating is separated from the other two
service ratings up through the pay grade of E-9.
The remaining two service ratings, GMG and
GMM, remain separated up to and including E-7.
At the E-8 and E-9 levels they are combined into
the general rating of Gunner's Mate (GMCS and
GMCM).
This means that the E-7 Gunner's Mate M, in
order to advance, must be prepared to maintain
conventional gun systems and rocket launching
systems. In other words, an E-7 GMM taking an
examination for E-8 will be examined on the
qualifications expected of the GMG in addition to
his own.
The GMM rating can be further subdivided into
classes. Each class is assigned a Navy Enlisted
Classification (NEC) number. The purpose of these
codes is to assist in identifying personnel in a
rating when a broad definition (such as GMM) is
not enough. Code numbers are assigned to
personnel with specialized skills and training.
Examples of such codes are GM- 0986, assigned to
gunner's mates who have graduated from the
guided missile launching system Mk 10
maintenance course, and GM-0988 the number
given to the GMM who has graduated from the
Tartar Mk 13 GMLS and missile maintenance
course. A complete list of the codes is found in the
Manual of Navy Enlisted Classifications, NavPers
15105 (latest revision).
As a GMM you are responsible for maintaining
guided missile launching systems. Also, you must
prepare guided missiles for testing, and replace
faulty missile components when tests indicate that
this should be done. To be effective in these duties,
you must have a broad background in many
occupational fields.
A GMM must be a mechanic in order to
maintain, adjust, and repair machinery such as
loaders, rammers, hoists, blast doors, and
magazine doors. You must learn the principles of
machines and how to use handtools, gages,
measuring instruments, and test equipment.
Another field you must have a thorough
knowledge of is electricity. This knowledge is
applied in working with electric motors and
generators, switchboards, and control panels for the
equipment in the launching system.
You must be knowledgeable in the field of
electronics. You will make tests and repairs on
vacuum tubes, transistors, magnetic amplifiers, and
power supplies.
You must be a hydraulic and pneumatic
specialist because many units based on hydraulic
and pneumatic principles are used in the launching
systems you will be assigned to.

GMM BILLETS

GMM is a seagoing rating. This is not to say that
GMMs never get duty on the beach. They do. But
most of the billets are on combatant ships. These
ships range from the small destroyer escort types to
the large attack carriers.
Your billet, as you know, is the place or job to
which you are assigned. The billets aboard ship to
which you may be assigned are in guided missile
launching systems. Primarily your billet calls for a
man who will assist a senior GMM in the
maintenance of a portion of a system. For example,
you may work under a GMM2 whose
responsibility is to keep the A-side of a launching
system in top working order.
We will not give a list of detailed duties that you
will perform in a particular billet. But in general
we can say that you will be simply an assistant who
will work under the direction of a more senior petty
officer. If you are a striker, he will supervise your
work closely. If you are third class, supervision
will be a little less close and you will be allowed to
show more initiative in performing your job.
Besides the occupational or professional duties,
you will have certain military duties, as do all
ratings in the Navy. These military duties include
the manning of battle stations, watch standing, and
other assignments related to the requirements for
naval operations, management, and security. This
manual is concerned with your occupational and
technical duties - NOT your military duties.

YOUR PART IN NAVAL LEADERSHIP

The Navy and Marine Corps have a continuing
program of moral leadership and character
education to ensure that naval leadership is
maintained at a consistently high level. The Navy

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CHAPTER 1 - THE GUNNER'S MATE (MISSILES) RATING

stresses moral responsibility and personal example.
In 1963 the Secretary of the Navy reissued General
Order 21. The objective of this general order is to
revitalize and reemphasize naval leadership in all
of its aspects. The three major aspects of naval
leadership are:

1. Technical competence
2. Personal example
3. Moral responsibility

As a petty officer you will have an important
practical part to play in your shipboard leadership
program. You may take charge of a group of
strikers. This will put you in a position of
leadership. You will have two responsibilities- to
accomplish a mission and to take care of your men.
The general principles and techniques of leadership
are fully discussed in Military Requirements for
PO 3 & 2, NavPers 10056-C. However, let's do a
little thinking about how you can help to carry out
General Order 21 on a day-to-day basis.
Assume for a moment that your mission aboard
ship is to maintain a launcher, and you have
strikers to assist you. Now a big part of your job is
to learn everything you can about the launcher and
to pass on your knowledge to your men. Technical
competence is a major aspect of good leadership.
But being a skilled technician is not enough. You
must inspire your strikers to do their work as
efficiently as possible.
A national characteristic of the American
fighting man is that he wants to know why he is
called upon to perform certain tasks. You must
explain to your strikers the importance of their
work and how it affects the overall fighting
efficiency of your ship. Make the smallest
mechanical task take on the nobility of a cause.
During exercises or drills make them feel they are
winning a war, not just turning knobs on
equipment. Keep in mind they are the men who
will fight by your side in combat. When led with
courage, spirit, and intelligence, they will fight as
willingly and as efficiently as any fighter in the
world. But it is up to you to provide inspiration so
that it will seep down to them.
To inspire your strikers and others, you must
have a strong moral character. Some of the
character traits you can develop by conscientious
study and practice are loyalty, integrity, and quiet
self-confidence.
Loyalty is one of the most essential factors of
leadership. Experienced officers and petty officers
say that they would rather have a loyal man who is
not an excellent worker than a disloyal
man who does excellent work. Loyalty to the
country, to the Navy, to your ship, to your division,
to your chief, to your senior petty officer, and to
the men who work with and for you-these are the
prime requisites of leadership. The surest way to
get the respect and loyalty of your men is to be
loyal yourself.
Everytime you feel the urge to criticize the
handling of your ship's affairs, stop short. You are
a part, and an important part, of your ship. How
can you expect your strikers to be loyal if you are
not?
Deal with your men squarely and honestly. If
you do, you will win and hold their respect. Be
dependable. This mark of integrity involves
keeping promises promptly. A reputation of being
a "square shooter" is worth every effort on your
part. Help to build this reputation early by not
tolerating "gun-decking" or other methods of
falsifying reports.
Good leaders have a quiet self-confidence (not
an arrogant or cocky manner) based on thorough
knowledge of the job and a belief in their own
ability. Confidence begets confidence. If you have
confidence in yourself, you can inspire confidence
in your men.

ADVANCEMENT

Some of the rewards of advancement are easy to
see. You get more pay. Your job assignments
become more interesting and more challenging.
You are regarded with greater respect by officers
and enlisted personnel. You enjoy the satisfaction
of getting ahead in your chosen Navy career.
But the advantages of advancement are not yours
alone. The Navy also profits. Highly trained
personnel are essential to the functioning of the
Navy. By each advancement, you increase your
value to the Navy in two ways. First, you become
more valuable as a specialist in your own rating,
and second, you become more valuable as a person
who can train others and thus make far-reaching
contributions to the entire Navy.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR ADVANCEMENT

What must you do to qualify for advancement?
The requirements may change from time to time,
but usually you must:

1. Have a certain amount of time in your present
grade.

3

2. Complete the required military and rating
manuals.

3. Demonstrate your ability to perform all the
PRACTICAL requirements for advancement by
completing the Record of Practical Factors,
NavPers 1414/1.

4. Be recommended by your commanding
officer, after the petty officers and officers
supervising your work have indicated that they
consider you capable of performing the duties of
the next higher rate.

5. Demonstrate your KNOWLEDGE by passing
written examinations on the occupational and
military qualification standards for advancement.

Some of these general requirements may be
modified in certain ways. Figure 1-1 gives a more
detailed view of the requirements for advancement
of active duty personnel; figure 1-2 gives this
information for inactive duty personnel.

Remember that the qualifications for
advancement can change. Check with your division
officer or training officer to be sure that you know
the most recent qualifications.

Advancement in rating is not automatic. Even
though you have met all the requirements,
including passing the written examinations, you
may not be able to" 'sew on the crow" or "add a
stripe." The number of men in each rate and rating
is controlled on a Navywide basis. Therefore, the
number of men who may be advanced is limited by
the number of vacancies that exist. When the
number of men passing the examination exceeds
the number of vacancies, some system must be
used to determine which men may be advanced and
which may not. The system used is the "final
multiple" and is a combination of three types of
advancement systems.

Merit rating system
Personnel testing system
Longevity, or seniority, system

The Navy's system provides credit performance,
knowledge, and seniority, and, while it cannot
guarantee that anyone person will be advanced, it
does guarantee that all men within a particular
rating will have equal advancement opportunity.
The following factors are considered in
computing the final multiple:

Factor Maximum Credit
Examination score 80
Performance factor
(Performance evaluation) 50
Length of service (years x 1) 20
Service in pay grade (years x 2) 20
Medals and awards 15

185

All of the above information (except the
examination score) is submitted to the Naval
Examining Center with your examination answer
sheet. After grading, the examination scores, for
those passing, are added to the other factors to
arrive at the final multiple; A precedence list,
which is based on final multiples, is then prepared
for each pay grade within each rating.
Advancement authorizations are then issued,
beginning at the top of the list, for the number of
men needed to fill the existing vacancies.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR ADVANCEMENT

What must you do to prepare for advancement?
You must study the qualifications for advancement,
work on the practical factors, study the required
rate training manuals, and study other material that
is required for advancement in your rating. To
prepare for advancement, you will need to be
familiar with (1) the Quals Manual, (2) the Record
of Practical Factors, (3) a NavPers publication
called Bibliography For Advancement Study
NavPers 10052, and (4) applicable rate training
manuals. The following sections describe them and
give you some practical suggestions on how to use
them in preparing for advancement.

Quals Manual

The Manual of Qualifications for Advancement,
NavPers 18068-C, gives the minimum
occupational and military qualification standards
for advancement to each pay grade within each
rating. This manual is usually called the "Quals
Manual," and the qualifications themselves are
often called "quals" The qualification standards are
of two general types: (1) military qualification

4

5

6

standards and (2) occupational qualification
standards.
MILITARY STANDARDS are requirements
that apply to all ratings rather than to anyone
particular rating. Military requirements for
advancement to third class and second class petty
officer rates deal with military conduct, naval
organization, military justice, security, watch
standing, and other subjects which are required of
petty officers in all ratings.
OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS are
requirements that are directly related to the work of
each rating.
Both the military requirements and the
occupational qualification standards are divided
into subject matter groups; then, within each
subject matter group, they are divided into
PRACTICAL FACTORS and KNOWLEDGE
FACTORS. Practical factors are things you must
be able to DO. Knowledge factors are things you
must KNOW in order to perform the duties of your
rating.
In most subject matter areas, you will find both
practical factor and knowledge factor
qualifications. In some subject matter areas, you
may find both practical factor and knowledge
factor qualifications. In some subject matter areas,
you may find only one or the other. It is important
to remember that there are some knowledge aspects
to all practical factors, and some practical aspects
to most knowledge factors. Therefore, even if the
QUALS MANUAL indicates that there are no
knowledge factors for a given subject matter area,
you may still expect to find examination questions
dealing with the knowledge aspects of the practical
factors listed in that subject matter area.
You are required to pass a Navywide
military/leadership examination for E-4 or E-5, as
appropriate, before you take the occupational
examinations. The military/leadership
examinations are administered on a schedule
determined by your commanding officer.
Candidates are required to pass the applicable
military/leadership examination only once. Each of
these examinations consists of 100 questions based
on information contained in Military Requirements
for Petty Officers 3 & 2, Navpers 10056 and other
publications listed in Bibliography For
Advancement Study, Navpers 10052.
The Navywide occupational examinations for
pay grades E-4 and E-5 will contain 150 questions
related to. occupational areas of your rating.
If you are working for advancement to second
class, remember that you may be examined on third
class qualifications as well as on second class
qualifications.
The Quals Manual is kept current by means of
changes. The occupational qualifications for your
rating which are covered in this training manual
were current at the time the manual was printed.
By the time you are studying this manual, however,
the quals for your rating may have been changed.
Never trust any set of quals until you have checked
it against an UP-TO-DATE copy in the Quals
Manual.

Record of Practical Factors

Before you can take the service-wide
examinations for advancement, there must be an
entry in your service record to show that you have
qualified in the practical factors of both the
military qualifications and the occupational
qualifications. The RECORD OF PRACTICAL
FACTORS mentioned earlier. is used to keep a
record of your practical factor qualifications. This
form is available for each rating. The form lists all
practical factors. both military and occupational.
As you demonstrate your ability to perform each
practical factor appropriate entries are made in the
DATE and INITIALS columns.

Changes are made periodically to the Manual of
Qualifications for. Advancement and revised forms
of Navpers 1414/1 are provided when necessary.
Extra space is allowed on the Record of Practical
Factors for entering additional practical factors as
they are published in changes to the Quals Manual.
The Record of Practical F actors also provides
space for recording demonstrated proficiency in
skills which are within the general scope of the
rating but which are not identified as minimum
qualifications for advancement.

Until completed. the NavPers 1414/1 is usually
held by your division officer; after completion it is
forwarded to the personnel office for insertion in
your service record. If you are transferred before
qualifying in all practical factors the incomplete
form should be forwarded with your service record
to your next duty station. You can save yourself a
lot of trouble by making sure that this form actually
is inserted in your service record before you are
transferred. If the form is not in your service record
you may be required to start all over again and
requalify in the practical factors which have
already been checked off.

7

Navpers 10052

Bibliography For Advancement Study, Navpers
10052 (revised), is a very important publication for
any enlisted person preparing for advancement.
This bibliography lists required and recommended
rate training manuals and other reference material
to be used by personnel working for advancement.
NavPers 10052 is revised and issued once each
year by the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Each
revised edition is identified by a letter following
the Navpers number. When using this publication,
be SURE that you have the most recent edition.
If extensive changes in qualifications occur in
any rating between the annual revisions of NavPers
10052, a supplementary list of study material may
be issued in the form of a BuPers Notice. When
you are preparing for advancement, check to see
whether changes have been made in the
qualifications for your rating. If changes have been
made, see if a Bupers Notice has been issued to
supplement Navpers 1005 for your rating.
The required and recommended references are
listed by pay grade in Navpers 10052. If you are
working for advancement to third class, study the
material that is listed for second class; but
remember that you are also responsible for the
references listed at the third class level.
In using Navpers 10052 you will notice that
some rate training manuals are marked with an
asterisk (*). Any manual marked in this way is
MANDATORY - that is, it must be completed at
the indicated rate level before you can be eligible
to take the servicewide examination for
advancement. Each mandatory manual may be
completed by (1) passing the appropriate enlisted
correspondence course that is based on the
mandatory training manual; (2) passing locally
prepared tests based on the information given in
the training manual; or (3) in some cases,
successfully completing an appropriate Navy
school.
Do not overlook the section of NavPers 10052
which lists the required and recommended
references relating to the military qualification
standards for advancement. Personnel of ALL
ratings must complete the mandatory military
requirements training manual for the appropriate
rate level before they can be eligible to advance.
The references in NavPers 10052 which are
recommended but not mandatory should also be
studied carefully. ALL references listed in Navpers
10052 may be used as source material
for the written examinations, at the appropriate rate
levels.

Rate Training Manuals

There are two general types of rate training
manuals. RATING manuals (such as this one) are
prepared for most enlisted ratings. A rating manual
gives information that is directly related to the
occupational qualifications of ONE rating.
SUBJECT MATTER manuals or BASIC manuals
give information that applies to more than one
rating.
Rate training manuals are revised from time to
time to keep them up to date technically. The
revision of a rate training manual is identified by a
letter following the NavPers number and the letter
following this number in the most recent edition of
List of Training Manuals and Correspondence
Courses, NavPers 10061. (Navpers 10061 is
actually a catalog that lists all current training
manuals and correspondence courses; you will find
this catalog useful in planning your study
program.)
Each time a rate training manual is revised, it is
brought into conformance with the official
publications and directives on which it is based;
but during the life of any edition, discrepancies
between the manual and the official sources are
almost certain to arise because of changes to the
latter which are issued in the interim. In the
performance of your duties, you should always
refer to the appropriate official publication or
directive. If the official source is listed in NavPers
10052, the Naval Examining Center uses it as a
source of questions in preparing the fleet- wide
examinations for advancement. In case of
discrepancy between any publications listed in
NavPers 10052 for a given rate, the Examining
Center will use the most recent material.
Rate training manuals are designed to help you
prepare for advancement. The following
suggestions may help you to make the best use of
this manual and other Navy training publications
when you are preparing for advancement.

1. Study the military qualifications and the
occupational qualifications for your rating before
you study the training manual, and refer to the
Quals frequently as you study. Remember, you are
studying the manual primarily in order to meet
these quals.
2. Set up a regular study plan. It will probably be
easier for you to stick to a schedule if you can plan
to study at the same time each day. If possible,
schedule your studying for a time of

8

day when you will not have too many interruptions
or distractions.
3. Before you begin to study any part of the
manual intensively, become familiar with the entire
book. Read the preface and the table of contents.
Check through the index. Look at the appendixes.
Thumb through the book without any particular
plan, looking at the illustrations and reading bits
here and there as you see things that interest you.
4. Look at the training manual in more detail to
see how it is organized. Look at the table of
contents again. Then, chapter by chapter, read the
introduction, the headings, and the subheadings.
This will give you a pretty clear picture of the
scope and content of the book. As you look
through the book in this way, ask yourself some
questions:

What do I need to learn about this?

What do I already know about this?

How is this information related to information
given in other chapters?

How is this information related to the
qualifications for advancement?

5. When you have a general idea of what is in
the training manual and how it is organized, fill in
the details by intensive study. In each study period,
try to cover a complete unit- it may be a chapter, a
section of a chapter, or a subsection. The amount of
material that you can cover at one time will vary. If
you know the subject well, or if the material is
easy, you can cover quite a lot at one time.
Difficult or unfamiliar material will require more
study time.
6. In studying anyone unit-chapter, section, or
subsection-write down the questions that occur to
you. Many people find it helpful to make a written
outline of the unit as they study, or at least to write
down the most important ideas.
7. As you study, relate the information in the
training manual to the knowledge you already
have. When you read about a process, a skill, or a
situation, try to see how this information ties in
with your own past experience.
8. When you have finished studying-a unit, take
time out to see what you have learned. Look back
over your notes and questions. Maybe some of
your questions have been answered, but perhaps
you still have some that are not
answered. Without looking at the training manual,
write down the main ideas that you have gotten
from studying this unit. Don't just quote the book.
If you can It give these ideas in your own words,
the chances are that you have not really mastered
the information.
9. Use enlisted correspondence courses
whenever you can. The correspondence courses are
based on rate training manuals or on other
appropriate texts. As mentioned before, completion
of a mandatory rate training manual can be
accomplished by passing an enlisted
correspondence course based on the rate training
manual. You will probably find it helpful to take
other correspondence courses as well as those
based on mandatory manuals. Taking a
correspondence course helps you to master the
information given in the training manual, and also
helps you see how much you have learned.
10. Think of your future as you study rate
training manuals. You are working for
advancement to third class or second class right
now, but some day you will be working toward
higher rates. Anything extra that you can learn now
will help you both now and later.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Besides training manuals, Navpers 10052 lists
official publications on which you may be
examined. You should not only study the sections
required, but should become as familiar as possible
with all publications you use. One of the most
useful things you can learn about a subject is how
to find out more about it. No single publication can
give you all the information you need to perform
the duties of your rating. You should learn where
to look for accurate, authoritative, up-to-date
information on all subjects related to the military
requirements for advancement and the occupational
qualifications of your rating.

PUBLICATIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Some of the publications described here are
subject to change or revision from time to time-
some at regular intervals, others as the need arises.
When using any publication that is subject to
change or revision, be sure that 'you have the latest
edition. When using any publication that is kept
current by means of changes, be sure you have a
copy in which all official changes have been made.
Studying canceled or obsolete information will not
help you to do your work

9

to advance in rating; it is likely to be a waste of
time, and may even be seriously misleading.

NAVORDSYSCOM Publications

As you might expect, the publication most often
referred to in this manual as a source of amplifying
information is the Ordnance Pamphlet (OP). OPs
are the basic type of technical publications issued
by the Naval Ordnance Systems Command
(NAVORDSYSCOM). The equipment OP (which
is the one you will most generally use) provides
detailed instructions on operational theory,
physical description of components, installation,
maintenance, repair, and safety precautions for
each item of ordnance equipment.
The manufacturer's technical manuals furnished
with some items of equipment are valuable sources
of information on operation, maintenance, and
repair.
The OPs needed for your equipment will be
aboard. If you feel a need for additional
information, you can consult OP 0, the index of all
OPs, for the titles and numbers of other
publications, and then request them.
INSTRUCTIONS issued by the
NAVORDSYSCOM are another source of
information referred to in this manual. The purpose
of these instructions is to pass out the details
concerning the Command's policy in matters of
operation and maintenance. The numbering system
for the instructions is explained in chapter 15. The
ones pertaining to the work of your division are
filed in the office and additional copies of some
may be kept in the work spaces.

BUPERS Publications

Some of the BUPERS publications that you will
need to study or refer to as you prepare for
advancement have already been discussed earlier in
this chapter. The basic courses, published by
BUPERS, will be referred to frequently in the
manual. These include:

Basic Electricity, NavPers 10086-B
Basic Electronics, NavPers 10087-C
Fluid Power, NavPers 16193-B
Military Requirements for Petty Officer 3 & 2,
Navpers 10056-C
Blueprint Reading and Sketching, Navpers
10077-C
Basic Machines, NavPers 10624-A
Basic Handtools, Navpers 10085-A

Large changes have been made in some of the
revisions so be sure you have the latest revision of
each book.
Since you will be working closely with Fire
Controlmen and Gunner's Mates (Guns), you may
find it useful to consult the rate training manuals
prepared for those ratings.

Naval Ship Systems Command
(NAVSHIPSYSCOM)

Missile launching systems and missile
magazines must be installed and maintained to
comply with ship's rules. These are given in
NAVSHIPS Technical Manual, consisting of
chapters, many of which are in pamphlet form. Use
the table of contents to locate a particular chapter,
and then use the index at the end of the chapter to
find the topic you want.
The electricity used in your division is supplied
by the ship, and ship's rules and regulations must
be observed. These too, are given in the Technical
Manual, along with some detailed instructions on
care and repair of components.

TRAINING FILMS

Training films available to naval personnel are a
valuable source of supplementary information on
many technical subjects. Training films are listed
in the United States Navy Film Catalog, NAVAIR
10-1-777 (formerly NAVWEPS 10-1-777-)
published in 1969. Copies may be ordered in
accordance with the Navy Stock List of
publications and Forms, NAVSUP 2002. Monthly
supplements to the Film Catalog are distributed to
catalog holders.
When selecting a film, note its date of issue
listed in the Film Catalog. As you know,
procedures sometimes change rapidly. Thus some
films become obsolete rapidly. If a film is obsolete
only in part, it may sometimes be shown
effectively if before or during its showing you
carefully point out to trainees the procedures that
have changed.

10

CHAPTER 2

HITTING A MOVING TARGET
FROM A MOVING SHIP

As mentioned in chapter 1 of this training
manual, the duties of the Gunner's Mate (Missiles)
include the operation and maintenance of guided
missile launching systems and associated handling
equipment. Your duties as a GMM also include the
handling and stowage of guided missiles and
guided missile components, replacement and/or
maintenance of components, assembly and
inspection of missiles, and preparation of missiles
for testing.
It would be fairly easy at this point to go right
into the subject of guided missile launching
systems and let it go at that. However, the
launching system is only one part-though a very
important part- of the overall shipboard weapons
system.
As a GMM, you must know a great deal more
about the launching system than merely the
operation and maintenance of the mechanisms
associated with it. To understand what the
mechanisms do, you must know how they fit into
the overall weapons system. Thus you must come
to understand the basic fire control problem that
must be solved to position a missile launcher, and
to direct the missile to the target. You must also
have a fairly good understanding of the guided
missile which you are to launch- especially its
propulsion system and warhead.
As a GMM you will be part of a weapons
delivery team made up of Radarmen, Fire Control
Technicians, and Gunner's Mate Technicians, to
name some of the ratings directly involved. In
studying this manual, you will come to know
something of their jobs as, indeed, they will learn
something about yours in their rate training
manuals.
You learned some of the basics of fire control in
Seaman, Navpers 10120-E, in the chapter on
gunnery. With these ideas in mind, let us now take
a brief look at some of the basic aspects of the
shipboard fire control problems.
DEFINITIONS

A MISSILE may be defined as ANY object
capable of being hurled, thrown, projected, or
propelled, so as to strike a distant object.
An UNGUIDED MISSILE is a missile which is
AIMED - but which CANNOT CONTROL its own
trajectory, or flight path. A thrown rock is an
example of an unguided missile.
A GUIDED MISSILE is a missile whose
trajectory IS CONTROLLED during all or part of
its flight, by mechanisms within the missile, or by
responding to the missile guidance system.
A ROCKET is a missile which carries a
propulsion system that is not dependent on the
oxygen in the atmosphere.
Thus, the term MISSILE is a general one. The
term ROCKET is specifically limited to missiles
propelled by air-independent systems. The
distinction between the two terms will become
clearer to you later in this course. The important
thing to remember now is that a rocket is limited in
its meaning.
What is fire control? FIRE CONTROL can be
defined as the practical application of exterior and
interior ballistics, and the methods and devices
used to control missiles, gun projectiles, torpedoes,
and other weapons. Another way to put it, in terms
of weapons, would be to say that fire control is the
process of determining the exact relationship
between a weapon and its target, and then using
that information to get the weapon to strike or
inflict damage on that target.

BASIC FIRE CONTROL
PRINCIPLES

We will now cover briefly some basic fire
control principles to give you an appreciation of
the problems inherent in placing a missile or
projectile on the proper trajectory. The principles
will be covered in a simple and direct fashion, with
no attempt to examine the mathematical aspects of
the fire control problem.

11

(The details of the problem, for the most part, are
the responsibility of Fire Control Technicians.)
To illustrate the basic principles of fire control,
we will use a simple gunfire control situation. This
method of presenting the problem is valid because
missile concepts are similar to tried and proven
gunnery principles. For example, the first
experimental shipboard missile weapon system
used modified gunfire control radars and
computers to solve the missile fire control problem.
Even the launching system used gun power drives
to position the launcher. So you can see that there
is a close relationship between gunnery and
missilery ideas and equipment. As we progress
through this chapter, we will point out the
similarities and differences between the missile and
gunfire control problems.
We will cover gunfire control principles as well
as missile fire control concepts. As a GMM you
should be familiar with the fire control problem. To
advance in rating, a background knowledge of
gunfire control is required. So, an early start in the
study of gun and missile fire control will better
prepare you to meet the professional (technical)
qualifications for advancement in rating.
At the beginning of this chapter we distinguished
between a guided missile and an unguided missile.
Under our previous definitions, it may be said that
a football, a bullet from a hunter's rifle, and a 5"
projectile, as well as a thrown rock, are unguided
missiles.
The problem of delivering a projectile from a
gun to a target has been studied for years. Accurate
computing devices have been developed to
consider many factors before sending a projectile
on its way to the target. These factors include
target range and bearing, target course and speed,
wind direction and speed, movements of the firing
platform, and gun ballistics. When these and
certain other factors have been determined, the gun
may be fired. From that instant on, there is no
control over the projectile's trajectory. It is "on its
own." Whether or not it hits the target depends on
the accuracy of the calculations prior to firing. If
the calculations were inaccurate, and the projectile
misses, corrections are introduced to bring the next
one on the target. This process is repeated, if
necessary, until the target is destroyed.
All of the calculations which go into the firing of
a missile - whether it be guided or unguided - fall
under the general heading of fire
control. The term FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM
denotes all of the equipollents necessary to achieve
this objective.

ELEMENTS OF FIRE
CONTROL SYSTEMS

It was stated earlier that a football falls under the
category of a missile. Strangely enough, the
"launching" of a football requires a fire control
system which is in many ways similar to that
required for guided missiles or unguided
projectiles.
To place a missile - whether it be a football, gun
projectile, or a missile - on a trajectory toward a
target, there are three essential elements in the fire
control system. These are:

1. A means of detecting the target and observing
its movements. (Detection and tracking.)
2. A computing system which will accept
various inputs and solve the fire control problem.
3. Communications channels which link the
detecting equipment and the computing system.

Considering a football as a missile, the passer's
eyes serve as the detection system. The passer's
brain accepts detection information relayed from
the eyes and computes the direction, elevation, and
force which must be applied to the ball to place it
on a trajectory to the receiver. In computing the
proper direction, elevation, and force, the brain
takes into consideration such factors as the
thrower's motion, the instantaneous direction of the
receiver, the direction and speed of the receiver's
motion, and the direction and speed of the wind. If
all of these are analyzed correctly, the missile
launching system (in this case the passer's body)
will release the ball with the proper force and in the
proper direction to cause a "hit."
In this "human fire control" system, there are
two obvious communication links. One of these
connects the detection system (the eyes) to the
computing system (the brain). The other connects
the brain to the launcher - the body, or, more
specifically, the arm.
We mentioned earlier that a bullet from a
hunter's rifle also falls under the category of a
missile. As in the football example, the eye serves
as the detecting system, the brain as the computing
system, and the body of the hunter and the rifle as
the launching system.

12
CHAPTER 2 - HITTING A MOVING TARGET FROM A MOVING SHIP

Again, if the motions of the target are correctly
detected and analyzed, the rifle should ultimately
be correctly positioned in train and elevation to
bring about a hit.
You will notice that there is one basic difference
in the foregoing examples. In the case of the
football player, the passer computed direction,
elevation, AND force. In the case of the hunter, he
computed only direction and elevation. The
distinction lies in the fact that the force exerted on
the football can be varied at the will of the passer.
He may throw the ball 5 yards, or he may throw it
25 yards (or more). In the case of the hunter's rifle,
the bullet will leave the rifle at essentially the same
velocity (and with the same force) regardless of the
distance or direction of the target. From
experience, the hunter instinctively allows for this
constant initial velocity as he leads his target in
bearing and elevation.
By leading his target (a flying bird or running
animal) in bearing we mean that the hunter must
aim, not at where his target is now, but where he
expects it will be when the bullet arrives. He also
must aim slightly above the target because gravity
pulls the bullet downward.
You will notice that the two key factors in
placing a missile initially on its trajectory are
bearing and elevation. If we have a rifle, 5" gun, or
guided missile launcher initially aimed on the right
bearing, and pointed in the proper direction above
the horizontal (elevation), the missile will leave its
launcher on the desired trajectory.
Earlier we said that the trajectory of a guided
missile could be controlled after the missile left its
launcher, whereas the trajectory of unguided
missiles could not. This is an extremely important
consideration, since a change in the target's motion
(course and speed) while a projectile is in flight
will cause a miss. The guided missile has been
designed so that it can alter its trajectory while in
flight. Even though the target's speed and direction
may change after a guided missile has been
launched, the missile guidance system will cause
the missile to turn toward the target and yield a hit.
The ways in which this is accomplished are
described later in this course.

INFLUENCES ON TRAJECTORY
BY OUTSIDE FORCES

Once a missile (guided or unguided) is launched,
certain outside forces work on it during
its entire flight. We will now look at the effects of
some of these forces to give you an idea of some of
the factors associated with the fire control problem.

Gravity

The primary natural force acting on a gun
projectile or guided missile is gravity. The effects
of gravity are felt throughout the entire universe.
Everybody in the universe has a gravitational field
which works on every other body in the universe.
This has been stated mathematically in terms of
mass and distance as follows:
Every body in the universe exhibits an attracting
force on every other body which is proportional to
the product of the mass of the bodies concerned,
and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.
You have probably heard that the gravitational
effects of the moon are considerably less than those
on the earth. This is due to the fact that the moon
has much less mass than the earth. The effects on
the moon's gravity are readily apparent on earth as
evidenced by the changing tides. The moon's
closeness to the earth permits these effects to be
detected. The planet Mars (in our solar system but
much farther away than the moon) has a much
stronger; gravitational field than the moon, but
exhibits no apparent effects on the earth.
Let's come back to earth, and neglect the effects
of gravitational fields other than our own. You
have heard the old expression that everything that
goes up must come down (long since proven dead
wrong). For practical purposes, we can consider the
expression to be true when the flight of a projectile
or guided missile is considered. The earth's
gravitational field is pulling on these objects
throughout their entire flight.
In 1600, the Italian astronomer Galileo made an
interesting observation about the pull of gravity.
Legend has it that he dropped several objects of
different weight from the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
and noted that all of them struck the ground at
about the same time. You may readily challenge
this statement by persisting that a steel ball will fall
faster than a feather. This occurrence is due to the
air density rather than the difference in weight of
the two objects. If a steel ball and a feather were
dropped simultaneously from the same height in a
vacuum, they I would strike the ground at precisely
the same instant. Many experiments have shown
that the pull of gravity causes a falling body to
accelerate

13

at the rate of about 32 feet per second (32 ft/sec
2
).
Acceleration is often expressed in terms of g's, one
g being equal to an acceleration of 32 ft/sec
2
.

Several simple formulas have been developed
which will help you to understand the relationships
of acceleration, distance, velocity, and time with
respect to a freely falling body. For example, the
distance a body will fall in a given amount of time
may be computed by the formula:

d = 1/2 gt
2

where d = distance in feet, t = time in seconds, and
g = 32 ft/sec
2
. By using this formula. we

can show that a freely falling object will fall 16
feet the first second, i.e.:

d - (1/2) (32 ft/sec
2
) (1 sec)
2
= 16 ft

During the first two seconds, the body will fall
(1/2) (32 ft/sec
2
) (2 sec
2
)2 = (32) (4) 2 = 64 ft.
To determine the velocity at any instant of fall,
you can use the formula:

v = v
1
+gt

where v
1
is the initial velocity, g is 32 ft/sec
2
, and t
is the time in seconds. For example, at the instant
of release, v
1
will equal zero. Therefore, the body
would fall at the rate of 32 ft/sec at the end of the
first second, since v = 0 + (32 ft/sec
2
) (1 sec). At
the end of 5 seconds, the same body would be
falling at the rate of 160 ft/sec, i.e.:

v = 0 + (32 ft/sec
2
) (5 sec) = 160 ft/sec

Now let's look at figure 2-1 to see how gravity
affects the trajectory of a projectile. In this figure,
the gun is pointed directly at the target. The line
along the axis of the bore, which is extended from
the end of the barrel, is called the LINE OF
DEPARTURE or the LINE OF FIRE (LOF).
At the instant the projectile leaves the muzzle
and is free from the constraining effects of the
barrel, the pull of gravity begins to affect it. The
projectile immediately starts to drop, and falls
substantially short of the target. It

14

is obvious from the figure that the gun must be
elevated to hit the target. Suppose the gun is
elevated by the amount shown in figure 2-2. Note
that the projectile again drops with respect to the
line of departure, even though it is going up with
respect to the horizontal. The angle between the
horizontal and the line of departure is called the
ANGLE OF DEPARTURE. The distance from the
gun to the target is called the RANGE.
The two primary forces, neglecting air
resistance, which work on a projectile in flight-
gravity and the force imparted by the propellant
charge - cause an unguided projectile to follow
anyone of an infinite number of parabolic
trajectories such as those shown in figure 2-3.
From this figure, you can see that a gun elevation
of 45 produces maximum range for a projectile.
At gun elevations greater than 45, the maximum
ordinate (highest point on the trajectory) will be
higher, but the range will be less. At elevations less
than 45, both the maximum ordinate and the range
will be less.
The gun elevation necessary to compensate for
the shape of the trajectory is called SUPER-
ELEVATION. Thus, superelevation is the angle
through which the gun in figure 2-1 would have to
be elevated to hit the target. Superelevation is
calculated for various types of projectiles by tests
and observations at the Naval Weapons
Laboratory, Dahlgren, Va., and is a factor in the
elevation computations of the fire control problem.
Looking again at figure 2-1, an interesting point
to be observed is that the fired projectile would
strike the ground at point A in exactly the same
amount of time that it would strike the ground if it
were merely dropped from the end of the gun
barrel. In both cases, the projectile would be a
maximum of 6 feet from the ground. The constant
acceleration of gravity would yield the same time
of flight in either case. To increase projectile time
of flight, the gun must be elevated above the
horizontal and, neglecting air resistance, the angle
of departure will equal the angle of fall (fig. 2-2).
The initial (muzzle) velocity of the projectile will
be equal to the striking velocity, and the time that it
takes the projectile to proceed to its maximum
ordinate will equal the time that it will take it to fall
from its maximum ordinate to the height of the
muzzle.
The force of gravity will affect a missile's
trajectory just as it affects the trajectory of a gun
projectile. To correct the gravity error, you just
elevate the launcher the proper amount.

Effects of Air Density

Up to this point, the effects of air density on a
projectile's flight path have been ignored.
However, in actual practice, we must account for
the density of the air, which causes significant
changes in the ideal trajectories just discussed.
Figure 2-4 shows how the air density might affect
an ideal trajectory of a projectile fired in a vacuum.
The effect of air is to set up a resistance against any
body passing through it. The resistance causes both
a loss in speed and a loss in range.

A peculiar thing about air resistance is that it
increases rapidly as the speed of the body
increases. Roughly, when the speed doubles, the
retardation of the projectile becomes more than
four times as great. Thus, if a projectile traveling at
1000 ft/sec were retarded 100 ft/sec every second,
a projectile traveling 2000 ft/sec might be slowed
as much as 400 ft/sec every second. Just as an
object passing through water creates waves that
retard its movement, an object passing through air
creates air waves. The effects of shape, size, speed,
and angle of attack of an object upon air
movements will be discussed in the next chapter
with regard to effect on missile flight.

With a little thought you can see what air
resistance does to the shape of the ideal trajectory.
The longer the projectile travels through the air, the
slower it goes. Shortening of the trajectory will be
more noticeable at the far end. The high point of
the trajectory will not be at the middle as it would
be in a vacuum, but will be nearer the point of
impact than it is to the gun.
The way to compensate for air resistance is to
increase range by additional elevation. In figure 2-
5, the dotted line shows the trajectory of a
projectile in a vacuum. Notice how much

15

additional elevation the gun must have to fire the
projectile the same range through air (solid line
trajectory).
It would be a very simple matter to compensate
for air density in the gunfire control problem if the
density were constant in all localities. Actually, air
density depends in great measure on temperature
and barometric pressure. Needless to say, these two
factors are continuously varying. Moreover, air
density decreases with altitude along the trajectory,
as does temperature.
The shape of the projectile also makes a
difference. Obviously, the bigger around the
projectile is, the more air will push against it. A
pointed nose makes it easier for the projectile to
push its way through the air, and thus reduces
resistance. Boat-tailing, or tapering, the after end of
the projectile reduces the drag

16

resulting from air turbulence behind the projectile,
and this also reduces resistance.
Guided missiles, like any physical body, are
affected by air density. To make their passage
through air easier, guided missiles are streamlined.
They also contain instruments that measure air
density. At high altitudes, where the air is thin, the
control surfaces of a missile must deflect more to
turn a missile a given amount. The air density
measuring device provides a signal to the missile's
control system, telling It to increase or decrease the
amount of rudder required for a particular
maneuver.

Wind

Another natural force which works on a guided
missile or projectile is wind. You will remember
that the football player takes the wind into account
before throwing a forward pass. If you have ever
played football on a windy day, you will remember
that a well-aimed forward pass may have curved to
the right or left, or fallen short of or beyond the
point where you wanted it to land.
Wind has exactly the same effect on a projectile
in flight. The effect of wind can be seen in figure 2-
6. If the wind blows from the left, the projectile will
turn to the right, and vice versa. If the projectile is
headed into the wind, its range will be decreased. If
it travels with the wind, the range will be increased.
You can see that effects of wind must be considered
in the solution of the fire control problem.
A wind that is blowing at right angles to the
projectile's line of fire is a "crosswind." If it is
blowing along the LOF, either with' or against the
projectile, it is called a "range wind."
If the wind is blowing along the LOF against the
projectile, the projectile will fall short of the target.
To compensate for this, we must elevate the gun to
increase the range of the projectile. If the wind is
b1owing with the projectile, the projectile will land
beyond the target. To compensate for this, we must
depress (lower) the gun or launcher to decrease the
range.
If the wind is blowing from the right (at 90 to
the LOF), the projectile will land to the left of the
target. To compensate for this, we must train the
gun or launcher to the right. If the wind is blowing
from the left at 90 to the LOF, the projectile will
land to the right of the target. To compensate for
this we must train the gun or launcher to the left.
The corrections for both types of wind are shown in
figure 2-7.
The examples given here are special cases.
Obviously, wind does not always blow directly at
right angles to the line of fire or directly along it. If
the wind were cooperative enough
to perform in this manner, it would be a relatively
simple matter to compute the wind corrections. In
most cases, the wind will be at some other angle to
the LOF. To correct for wind, it is necessary to
resolve the true wind into components in line with
and perpendicular to the LOF. When this is done,
each component can be treated individually and
the proper gun setting or launcher adjustments
made.
Immediately after firing, a projectile is traveling
at such a high speed that the wind does not affect
its flight very much. As the projectile slows down
during its flight, the wind effects become more
noticeable. Hence, the longer a projectile remains
in flight, the more its trajectory will be altered by
the wind, so that the wind deflection increases
with range. While the effects of wind on missile
trajectory are modified by the powered flight, they
must be included in the calculations. Wind effects
can be especially noticeable on long-range
missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The computations are further complicated by the
decreasing mass of the rocket or missile as the fuel
burns up.

Two other factors which affect the trajectory are
wind speed and projectile size. Obviously, the
greater the wind velocity, the greater the effect on
the projectile. At the same initial velocity, a heavy
projectile would be affected less by wind than
would a light one.
Corrections for the effects of wind are only
approximate, because wind speed and direction
are usually different at various levels. For
instance, the wind might be blowing from the
north on the surface of the ocean, and from the
south at an altitude of 6000 feet. In such a case, a
projectile's trajectory would be affected differently
as it is acted on by the winds at various altitudes.

Wind conditions at different altitudes are
sometimes determined by observations from
airplanes or by observing the movements of small
balloons. If it is found that a projectile's trajectory
will take it through winds which move in different
directions, a "weighted ballistic wind" may be
used to compute gunsetting or launcher
corrections.
If the projectile's trajectory is low, and passes
through winds of one direction only, surface wind
is used to compute corrections.
In the upper air, winds blow up and down as
well as horizontally. These vertical winds can lift
the projectile or hold it down, and thus lengthen or
shorten the range. Because these winds are
extremely difficult to measure, and

17

actually have little practical effect, they are not
considered in fire control computations.
The guided missiles that concern you are
boosted into the air. This boost portion of flight is
very short, about 5 seconds. During this time the
missile is essentially an unguided projectile. Wind,
gravity, and air density affect it just as they would
a gun projectile. After the boost period is over, the
missile enters its guided phase of flight. Even then,
these external forces are still at work. But they are
corrected for by control surface (wing or tail)
movements. To correct for wind and gravity effects
during the boost phase, corrections are included in
launcher elevation and train orders. Air density is
taken care of by booster thrust design.
Corio1is Effect

The Corio1is effect (named after the French
scientist Corio1is) also has an effect on the
trajectory of a missile or projectile. Although not
compensated for in all fire control problems, the
Corio1is effect is worth discussing since it
becomes important especially with respect to long
range gunfire and missiles.

The effect is based on the fact that the different
points on the earth's surface have different
velocities around the axis of the earth. In figure 2-8
the object at the Equator has a velocity of about
1000 miles per hour around the

18

earth's axis. The two objects between the Equator
and the poles will have a considerably smaller
velocity. The objects at the poles will have zero
velocity.

If we fire a projectile from point 1 toward point
2 and do not correct for the Coriolis effect, it will
be deflected to the right of the target, as shown by
the dotted lines. In this case, the velocity of the
launching point is greater than that of the target.
The launching point component of velocity will
cause the projectile's deflection to the right, and
cause it to strike at point 2'.

Now assume that we fire from point 3 to point 4,
again failing to correct for the Coriolis effect. The
projectile will again be deflected to the right of the
target, landing at point 4'. In this case, the launch
point has a smaller velocity than the target point.

From the foregoing, we can say that if the
Coriolis effect is not corrected for, a projectile will
be deflected to the right of the target in the
Northern Hemisphere due to the difference in
velocity of points at different latitudes.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the effect is
reversed; that is, a projectile is deflected to its left.
This can be seen when firing from point 5 toward
point 6 in the illustration. The higher velocity at
point 5 (relative to point 6) will cause the projectile
to be deflected to its left, landing at point 6'. If we
fire in a northerly direction in the Southern
Hemisphere, the projectile will still be deflected to
its left as shown by points 7, 8, and 8'.
Therefore, we can say that if the Coriolis effect
is not corrected for. a projectile will always be
deflected to the left of the target in the Southern
Hemisphere.
The curvature of the earth. too, is of little
significance in short-range firing, but must be
included in the computations for long-range shots.

Stabilization

Another very important factor which must be
taken into consideration is solving the shipboard
fire control problem is stabilization. In figure 2-9A,
we show a ship whose deck plane is horizontal. In
this case, the target elevation and bearing noted by
the detecting equipment is referenced correctly to
the horizontal plane. Now look at figure 2-9B. In
this illustration you can see that the pitch and roll
of the deck causes the values of target elevation to
vary, since they are measured from the tilting deck
plane. Since a ship is continuously rolling and
pitching, the amounts by which the deck plane
varies from the horizontal plane must be
continuously measured and compensated for in the
solution to the fire control problem. (Although not
shown. bearing will also vary because of the roll
and pitch.)
Stabilization information consists of two
quantities -level and crosslevel. Level is the angle
between the deck plane and the horizontal plane,
measured in a vertical plane through the line of
sight. CROSSLEVEL is the angle between the
deck plane and the horizontal plane measured in a
plane at right angles to the vertical plane through
the line of sight at right angles to the deck. Figure
2-9C, D. and E show the relationships of level and
crosslevel to the planes involved. Level and
crosslevel angles are continuously measured by the
ship's STABLE ELEMENT, and are a significant
factor in the correct solution to the fire control
problem.

Trunnion Tilt

Guns and missile launchers are mounted
between trunnions, which tilt as the deck rolls and
pitches. Trunnion tilt corrections are corrections
necessary to keep the guns or launchers pointing
along the line of fire despite the tilting of the
trunnions. In figure 2-10, you can see that a tilting
deck would cause a miss if the tilt were not
compensated for. Thus, trunnion tilt must also be
measured continuously and corrected for in the gun
or launcher train and elevation orders.

19

Parallax

Another factor to be considered in the fire
control problem is parallax. In figure 2-11, the
detecting equipment is trained on a target on the
port beam. You can see that only one of the guns
would hit the target if all were trained on the port
beam.

The problem of parallax stems from the fact that
the guns and launchers are displaced from the
tracking (fire control director) equipment. Thus,
the line of sight between the tracking
equipment and the target does not coincide with the
line of sight between the guns and launchers and
the target.

The director must correct its orders for LOF so
lines of sight from the guns and launchers in
different parts of the ship will all converge on the
target. The farther the gun or launcher is from the
director, the greater the horizontal parallax
correction will be. Figure 2-11B shows how the
guns are brought to bear on the target when the
parallax has been compensated for. Figure 2-11C
shows that an elevation correction is also necessary
since the gun and tracking equipment are

20

at different heights. Actually, the parallax
corrections are relatively small angles (greatly
exaggerated in the figures) which change the gun
orders only slightly. Moreover, parallax may be
corrected for with little difficulty, since the guns
and launchers are at fixed distances from the
tracking equipment on any given ship.

It is important to mention that parallax effects
become more significant at short ranges such as
those shown in the figures than they would be at
long ranges. At extremely long ranges, the effects
become negligible.

EFFECTS OF INTERIOR FORCES

Interior ballistics is the study of what happens
while the projectile travels through the bore of the
gun from the instant of firing. Since missiles are
fired from launchers and do not pass through a
bore, you can readily see that some of the factors
will not affect the trajectories of missiles. Both gun
barrel and launcher give the initial direction to the
projectile or missile.
Initial Velocity

The "send-off", of a projectile or missile makes a
big difference in how far and how fast it goes. In
the old days when each gun was hand loaded by
tamping in a measured quantity of gunpowder,
wadding, and shot, the result was not predictable.
With the manufacture of ammunition rounds in
factories according to precise standards, it became
possible to prepare range tables for all sizes and
types of ammunition. Until the more recent
replacement by automatic computations, range
tables were consulted in all gunnery computations.
While Navy officers still had to learn how to figure
where their shots would land, the range tables were
a convenient source of prefigured data for every
type of ammunition in the Navy.

The initial velocity for missiles is furnished by
the booster. Its size, weight, and type of propellant
determine the initial velocity of the missile.

21

Condition of Propellant

With composition, size, shape, quantity,
configuration, and containment of the propellant all
determined with exactitude before you receive the
projectiles or missiles, what influence does the
work of Gunner's Mates have in initial velocity?
The condition of the propellant at the time of use
can have great influence. One of these conditions is
the temperature. Another condition is humidity.
Temperature and humidity of the missile storage
spaces must be carefully regulated. A higher
temperature results in greater energy release, and
therefore the booster propellant "burns up" faster.
Drift

Another factor that affects the trajectory of a
projectile is drift. Drift is not a simple effect; it's
the product of the interaction of three other factors
- namely, the clockwise spin of the projectile, the
force of gravity, and air resistance. As the spinning
projectile moves through the air, it tends to point
slightly above the trajectory, and the air pressure
on its underside develops a thrust that tends to
tumble the projectile end over end. But like any
other rapidly spinning mass, the projectile reacts to
a thrust tending to displace its axis of spin by
precessing gyroscopically. (You'll learn more about
gyroscopic action as you learn more about fire
control, so we won't go into detail about it at this
point.) In this case, the precessing movement is a
slow turn to the right. The result is that the
projectile's course is deflected to the right-
relatively slowly at first, but more and more as the
trajectory lengthens.
The direction of drift depends entirely on the
direction of rotation of the projectile. Every rifled
weapon in the Navy (with one exception - the .45
caliber pistol) causes projectile spin to the right
(that is, clockwise as viewed from the projectile
base), and drift to the right.
Drift increases with range, but it is completely
independent of wind. Since missiles are not fired
from rifled barrels, this type of deflection does not
occur.

WHY WE NEED
FIRE CONTROL INSTRUMENTS

Picture yourself on the deck of a modern
warship, charged with the responsibility of
directing the ship's gunfire. The target is visible on
the horizon and it is up to you to tell the gunner
how he must elevate and train his guns in order to
score a hit on the enemy. You are familiar with the
corrections that must be applied and you know how
they are calculated. So, first you determine range
and bearing' 'by eye"; then you must correct for
drift, wind, air resistance, earth's curvature, and
rotation of the earth. You must determine the
target's course and speed, predict its future
position, allow for own ship's motion, predict
future range and deflection, and correct for level
and crosslevel. You work rapidly and after a half-
hour or so, you come up with the answer. By that
time the target has disappeared or has blown you
out of the water.
The solution of the modern fire control problem
cannot be reached rapidly nor accurately enough
without the help of various fire control

22

equipments and related equipment. A hit or miss
method is intolerable; modern fire control
instruments are essential to get the most out of our
expensive, modern weapons. Gunner's Mates need
to know the basic principles of fire control.

HITTING A MOVING TARGET
FROM A MOVING SHIP

From what has been discussed to this point, you
know that we must offset a gun or launcher from
the line of sight (LOS) between the tracking
equipment and the target to compensate for such
factors as superelevation, air density (gunfire only),
wind, stabilization, and parallax. Important as these
factors are in the ultimate correct solution to the
fire control problem, they must be accurately
related to the movements of own ship and target if
we are to come anywhere close to getting a hit.

Thus far, we have been discussing various
factors affecting the fire control problem as though
the target were standing still. In the vast majority
of cases, the target is moving- either on the surface
of the sea, or in the air over it. The movement of
the target with respect to the firing ship is by far
the most important factor in the computation of the
fire control solution and the correct positioning of
the guns and launchers.

In any fire control problem involving a moving
target, the target must be led - just as the duck
hunter leads the duck or the passer in a football
game leads his receiver running down the field. For
a surface ship target, the problem is relatively
simple. The first thing to be considered is the
motion of own ship. Figure 2-12 shows how the
motions of the firing ship will cause errors in the
projectile trajectory if not compensated for. In the
first part of the figure, the firing ship is headed
away from the stationary target at, say, 5 knots.
With own ship's course and speed not compensated
for, the projectile falls short. If the firing ship's
speed were greater in the same direction, the
projectile would fall short by an even greater
amount. The next three parts of the figure show
that different courses of the firing ship with
relation to the target will produce similar errors. By
taking own ship's course and speed into
consideration in the solution of the problem, these
effects are compensated for and the errors are
nullified.

23

Now, let us see what happens when the target
starts moving. Figure 2-13 shows a situation in
which the firing ship and target ship are both
moving. You can see that if we fired at the
instantaneous position of the target - that is, along
the line of sight - the target would have moved to a
new location while the projectile was in flight. We
therefore must predict a future position of the target
which will permit the gun to be offset from the line
of sight by the amount necessary to cause a hit. To
do this we must first know the target's course and
speed, as well as our own.

APPLICATION OF FIRE CONTROL
PRINCIPLES

Fire control systems vary on different ships and
for different gun and weapon systems. In all
modern systems, computations of the effects of the
various forces, internal and external, that affect the
trajectory of projectiles and missiles, are made
automatically.

SOLVING THE SURFACE PROBLEM

Earlier we said that a detection system, a
computing system, and communications links were
the elements of a fire control system. Figure 2-14
shows how these elements are linked together with
a gun and a launcher.
For the detection system we use a radar set. The
radar uses the transmission and reception of
electromagnetic radio frequency energy to provide
us with information as to the target's precise
location with respect to our own ship at any given
time. This information is automatically transmitted
to the computer in the form of target ranges and
bearings. The computer automatically compares
the range and bearing information with elapsed
time and continuously generates target course and
speed.
The computer also accepts course and speed
information automatically from own ship's gyro
and pitometer log, certain inputs (such as initial
velocity), air density, wind speed and direction,
level and cross1eve1 signal information from the
ship's stable elements, trunnion tilt, and parallax
corrections, in some cases Corio1is effect, and
other inputs which have a lesser bearing on the
problem. In addition, it automatically compensates
for supere1evation (defined earlier in this chapter).
(The use of a pitometer 1og in measuring own
ship's speed is described and illustrated in Basic
Machines, NavPers 10624-A, page 61.)
The computer continuously analyzes all of this
information (some of which may be set in by hand,
depending on the system involved), and comes up
with a continuous solution to the problem. This
solution consists primarily of two continuously
generated quantities:

1. The angle by which the line of fire must be
offset from the line of sight in bearing. This angle
is called sight deflection.
2. The angle which the line of fire must be offset
from the line of sight in elevation. This angle is
called sight angle.

24

These quantities (fig. 2-15) are generated
continuously and automatically. After they are
corrected for roll and pitch, they arrive as gun train
and elevation orders at the mount power drives,
thus causing the gun barrel to continuously lead the
target by the amount necessary to yield a proper
trajectory.

SOLVING THE
ANTIAIRCRAFT PROBLEM

The gun antiaircraft problem is somewhat more
complicated than the surface problem because
target altitude is involved, and also because of the
greater speed of air targets.
Figure 2-16 shows an aircraft approaching a
ship. Again, the line of sight represents the
instantaneous direction and range from the
detecting equipment to the target. As with the
surface problem, firing along the line of sight
would be to no avail, since the target would have
passed to a new position during the time of flight
of the projectile. In computing the air target's
course and speed, the target elevation angles are
continuously measured by the ship's detecting
equipment in addition to the bearings and ranges.
As in the case of the surface target, own ship
motions and target motions (in this case bearings,
ranges, and elevation angles) are used to position
the gun or launcher to lead the target by the correct
amount.
It is worthwhile mentioning here that any
changes in target course and speed (surface or air
problem) are quickly recognized by the detection
equipment, and the new information fed to the
computer, which immediately corrects the solution
and the gun orders. The original predicted target
position is continuously

25

and automatically revised as information is
received by the computers and the corrections are
sent to the gun or launcher.
The line of sight to the moving air target in
figure 2-16 assumes that the ship's deck remains
horizontal, which is rarely the case. Corrections for
roll and pitch of the ship are included in the
computation for the correct line of fire to be used
in order to hit the target where it will be at the time
calculated.
Figure 2-17B shows that sight angle for the air
target includes allowance for target elevation
angles. Compare it with figure 2-17 A. The line of
sight establishes the relationship between the target
and the gun. Sight angle and sight deflection are
measured from the line of sight to the line of fire.
However, for an air target (fig. 2-17B) , the line of
sight is not in the horizontal plane but in the slant
plane. The angles are measured from the slant
plane.

THE BEAM-RIDER MISSILE AA
FIRE CONTROL PROBLEM

So far in this chapter, we have emphasized the
gunfire control problem. Now let's change our
thinking a little and look at the fire control problem
presented to one type of beam-rider missile. We
won't have to shift our mental gears very much
because, as you will see, there is very little
difference between the two problems. In the gun
problem we pointed a gun at an airplane with
enough lead angle to compensate for target motion
during projectile flight and to correct for the effects
of wind, drift, gravity, and initial velocity.
Basically, the only difference

26

between the gun and beam-rider missile problems
is the target. Instead of pointing the launcher in the
general direction of a physical target, we point it at
a big radar beam. This beam is called the guidance
beam. The missile is launched along a curved line
(trajectory) which intercepts a point within the
guidance beam called the capture point. Figure 2-
18 illustrates the beam- rider fire control problem.
After the search radar has located the attacking
aircraft, the tracking and guidance radar follows
the aircraft with its beam. The missile follows or
"rides" the beam to the target. The booster case
drops off after booster burnout, and the missile
continues onward.
Before the missile can follow the guidance
beam, it must come within the area of the beam.
that is, it must be captured by the beam in order

27

to be controlled by it. The missile must be aimed
into the beam, not at the enemy aircraft in the
distance, which may maneuver out of the way. In
figure 2-18 you see that the "aiming point" is
outside the beam, but that is because corrections
for the effects on missile trajectory (air density,
gravity, wind, etc.) will deflect the trajectory so the
missile enters the radar beam and comes under its
control.
You can visualize the guidance beam as a big
circle several hundred yards wide with a small dot
near the center. The dot symbolizes the capture
point. In real life, of course, it is invisible. And so
is the radar beam. If guided missile launchers had
sights like guns have, you could look through them
during missile launch and see only the sky. From
an abstract and mathematical point of view,
however, you would be looking at a point in space.
Figure 2-18 shows this abstract point in more
concrete form and it is labeled, simply, capture
point. The fire control missile computer
continuously figures out where the guidance beam
and the capture point are. The computer determines
the launcher train and elevation orders based on
beam position and ballistic factors. These order are
electrical signals which position the launcher. The
missile is fired and if the lead angle is accurate, the
missile hits the capture point and is captured by the
beam. Once the beam has control of the missile, the
missile is guided to a point high in the atmosphere.
The missile rides the guidance beam until it
intercepts the target (fig. 2-19).
While figure 2-19 shows the missile, flying
straight to the target, in actual practice this is far
from the case. The target is moving rapidly; the
radar beam follows it, and the missile follows the
beam. The target may change its course, and this
may mean sharp changes in the course of the radar
beam and the missile that rides it. A missile is
subject to the same forces as a gun projectile while
in flight. Corrections to the trajectory are
calculated before the missile is fired, so it will have
a correct start on its flight.
Lead angle is made up of two corrections- lead
due to target motion, and lead due to ballistics.
Assume that lead because of target motion is
correct. If the missile is launched on a line pointed
directly at the capture point, the missile will miss
the capture point. Why? Because ballistic
corrections have not been added to launcher train
and elevation orders. These ballistic factors are (1)
parallax, (2) gravity, and (3) wind deflection.
Parallax

Figure 2-20 shows what happens if the missile's
trajectory is not corrected for parallax. The missile
trajectory and guidance beam are offset, and the
trajectory does not intercept the capture point. If
we launched a missile under these conditions, the
result would be a missile "by the deep-six." Like
the gunfire control equipment, missile fire control
equipment is spread out over the ship. The launcher
and the guidance radar are physically offset along
the centerline of the ship and also are at different
heights above the deck of the ship. Therefore, if the
launcher and radar are positioned at the same
bearing and elevation angles, the line of fire of the
launcher will be parallel to the guidance beam. As
you know, the amount these parallel lines are offset
from each other is called parallax. To compensate
for parallax, the launcher bearing and elevation
angles are offset toward the guidance beam. Then
the launcher line of fire intersects the guidance
beam, and the missile trajectory will intersect the
capture point. Time to beam capture is very short,
about 5 seconds after launch; booster burnout
occurs about 1 sec second before this.

Gravity

In figure 2-21 you can see the effect of gravity
on the missile's trajectory. For clarity, we have
neglected the parallax and wind effects. Between
launch and capture, gravity acts on the missile. At
the instant when the missile should be captured by
the guidance beam, it is actually some distance
below the capture point. To compensate for the
gravity effect, the launcher must be elevated so that
the launcher line of fire intersects a point above the
capture point. This is the same technique used in
gunfire control to compensate for the effect of
gravity. The name is the same too - superelevation
correction.

Wind

Figure 2-22 illustrates the effects of wind on the
missile trajectory. Once again, other effects are
ignored. The wind tends to blow the missile off
course during the period between launch and
capture. Since the missile is not guided during this
portion of its flight, wind corrections must be made
before launch. The fire control computer calculates
these corrections and sends them to the launcher.
Therefore. the launcher is offset from the guidance
radar line of sight

28

29

30

by an amount proportional to the speed of the
wind, and in a direction opposite to that of the
wind. Now the wind will blow the missile into the
guidance beam at the capture point.
The correction for wind includes not only true
wind (atmospheric) speed and direction, but also
apparent wind, caused by the ship's movement.

SUMMARY

This chapter has briefly covered some of the
more important aspects of the surface and air fire
control problems. You have seen that the correct
solution of a fire control problem depends on many
factors. First of all, the target must be detected and
tracked. Detection and tracking require an
equipment such as radar, which will continuously
and automatically provide target bearings and
ranges. In the air problem, it must also provide
continuous information regarding the elevation
angles of the target. This information must be
automatically transmitted to a fire control
computer, which will compare it with own ship's
motion as measured by gyrocompass and pitometer
log. In addition, the computer also takes into
consideration such factors as level and crosslevel
information from the stable element,
superelevation, trunnion tilt, wind speed and
direction,
parallax, in some cases Coriolis effect, air density,
and powder temperature (in missile FC computers).
The resulting gun and missile orders are
continuously generated by the computer and are
electrically transmitted to the gun (or launcher)
train and elevation power drives, thus causing the
line of fire to lead the line of sight by the proper
amounts in bearing and elevation. There are many
more details of computation in the solution of the
fire control problem for guns and missiles, but
these are not covered in this text.
Later chapters of this training course will show
you in greater detail how a modern weapons
system operates. The next chapter will discuss the
flight principles and propulsion units of guided
missiles.
You may be asked yourself, "Why should I learn
more about fire control?" One answer to that
question might be: You'll be able to see how
important your job is.
The quals for your job require you to know the
basic principles of missile flight control, ballistics,
and fire control variables. The same forces of
nature (wind, air density, gravity, etc.) that affect
projectile flight also affect missile flight. The man
made thrust force has some variations from guns to
missiles, but the principles are the same. As you
advance, you must learn how various components
function in fire control. The same types of
components were used for gun fire control before
missiles were invented.

31

CHAPTER 3

PRINCIPLES OF MISSILE FLIGHT
AND JET PROPULSION

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter and the next we will take up the
subject of guided missiles in general. As a GMM,
the information in these two chapters will help you
to understand the missiles used in the launching
systems. Also, the information here represents a
substantial portion of the knowledge required by
your advancement qualifications.
Specifically, this chapter deals with basic flight
principles, the principle of jet propulsion, and the
various types of missile propulsion systems.
Chapter 4 covers missile components such as
SERVOMECHANISMS and GYROS, and the
various types of missile guidance systems. You are
urged to study these two chapters carefully since
the remainder of this course will concentrate
primarily on launching systems. Whatever
knowledge you can gain in chapters 3 and 4 will be
of considerable help to you in understanding the
material which follows.

MISSILE AERODYNAMICS

Guided missiles launched from surface ships
have their flight paths within the earth's
atmosphere, so it is important that you understand
some basic aerodynamic principles.
Aerodynamics may be defined as the science
that deals with the motion of air and other gases,
and with the forces acting on bodies moving
through these gases.

THE ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere is a gaseous envelope
surrounding the earth to a height of roughly 250
miles. Although there is some difference of opinion
as to where the atmosphere ends and space begins,
the limit defined above is quite generally accepted.
So far as tangible evidence goes, the 750-mile
upper limit of the aurora borealis is the "top" of the
atmosphere. The behavior of the electrical
discharges indicates that elements of air are
present, although extremely rare.
As mentioned in chapter 2, one of the most
important characteristics of the atmosphere is that
air density changes with altitude. As altitude
increases, air density decreases significantly. At
sea level, the density of air is about .076 pound per
cubic foot. At 20,000 feet, air density is only about
.0405 pound per cubic foot. Because of the
decrease in air density with altitude, a missile
flying at 35,000 feet encounters less air resistance-
that is, has less drag-than a missile flying close to
sea level.

Air pressure also varies with altitude. The
pressure acting on each square inch of the earth's
surface at sea level is actually the weight of a
column of air one inch square, extending from sea
level to the outer limits of the atmosphere. On a
mountain top, this column of air would be shorter,
and so the weight (pressure) acting on ' each square
inch would be less. Therefore, air pressure
decreases as altitude increases.

Another characteristic of the atmosphere which
changes with altitude is temperature (see fig. 3-1).
But, unlike density and pressure, temperature does
not vary directly with altitude. From sea level to
about 35,000 feet, the temperature drops steadily at
a rate of approximately 3 1/2F per thousand feet.
It then remains fairly constant at -67F up to about
105,000 feet. It then increases at a steady rate until
another constant- temperature zone is reached. This
zone lasts for several miles. Then the temperature
starts decreasing. The procedure repeats itself - that
is, a second temperature minimum is reached, and
after a short constant-temperature zone, it starts
rising again. These temperature minimums mark
the boundaries between the four regions in the
atmosphere: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, and the thermosphere, shown in figure
3-2. In this figure the regions beyond are simply
labeled "outer space," but they may be divided into
further layers, according to the findings of space
probes and explorations of recent times.

32
CHAPTER 3 - PRINCIPLES OF MISSILE FLIGHT AND JET PROPULSION

Troposphere

The troposphere is the lowest layer of the
atmosphere and extends from the surface of the
earth to a height of 10 miles. This is not a firm
figure, as the height of the troposphere varies over
different parts of the earth. Near the poles it may be
only 4 miles. It is made up mostly of nitrogen and
oxygen, and accounts for three- fourths of the
weight of the atmosphere. Within this layer
temperature decreases with altitude, and it is here
that clouds, snow, rain, and the seasonal changes
occur.
Because the troposphere is dense, aerodynamic
surfaces can be used efficiently to control missiles.
However, this high density causes a large amount
of drag. You will remember from chapter 2 that the
dense lower atmosphere slows down a projectile. It
will have the same effect on a missile. The German
V-2, rocket which was used to bomb England
during World War II, was slowed down from 3300
to 1800 mph as it passed through the troposphere.
The friction of the air also causes extremely high
skin temperatures on missiles or reentry craft, high
enough to melt common metals.

33

Stratosphere

The stratosphere is the layer of air above the
troposphere. Its upper limits are around 20 miles
above sea level. In this region temperature no
longer decreases with altitude, but stays nearly
constant and actually begins to increase in the
upper levels. Higher temperatures in the upper
levels are caused by ozone which is heated by
ultraviolet radiation from the sun. (Ozone is a gas
which is produced when electricity is discharged
through oxygen.) The composition of the
stratosphere is similar to that of the troposphere;
however, there is practically no moisture in the
stratosphere. There are almost no clouds and no
storms, and an almost complete absence of dust. At
the earth's surface the air contains about 21 percent
oxygen, but this decreases to a small value in the
stratosphere, while the percent of hydrogen rises
from 0.01 percent to 95 percent. The air is said to
be "thin" and will not support human life nor air
breathing engines. Propeller-driven vehicles cannot
penetrate this region because of the low air density,
and aerodynamic surfaces have greatly reduced
effect in controlling missiles. But increases in
missile speeds are possible because thrust is used
more for acceleration and less to overcome drag.

Mesosphere

Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere,
extending from about 19 miles to 50 miles.
Within this region the minim\lm temperature is
reached at about 47 1/2 nautical miles (fig. 3-1),
decreasing from about 7C at its lower edge to -
100C at its upper limit. Ozone is generated in this
region and it is the seat of transformation of most
primary into secondary radiation. Intense meteor
trains reach down into the mesosphere and their
brilliant combustion gave rise to the belief that this
was a region of comparatively high temperature.

Intermediate Layers

In figure 3-1 you find the words "tropopause,"
"stratopause," and "mesopause." These are applied
to rather narrow regions between the layers
described above. In each case, they are the regions
of transition from one type of atmosphere to the
next one, and are likely to have turbulence because
of the inversion or reversal characteristics.

Thermosphere

The thermosphere starts at about 47 1/2 nautical
miles (fig. 3-1) and extends to the ionosphere.
Sometimes the two areas are considered as the
ionosphere as they have a continuing upward trend
in temperature. The increase in temperature IS due
to the presence of ozone, which is formed by the
action of ultraviolet rays from the sun on the
oxygen in the atmosphere. Tremendous
fluctuations of wind speed (70 knots or more)
occur on a daily basis. These fluctuations are
referred to as atmospheric tides.

Ionosphere

Above the thermosphere, ranging up to about
250 miles above sea level, is the ionosphere. This
is a region rich in ozone, and consists of a series of
electrified layers. The ionosphere is extremely
important because it refracts (bends) radio waves
(fig. 3-2). This property enables a radio transmitter
to send waves to the opposite side of the world by a
series of refractions and reflections taking place in
the ionosphere and at the surface of the earth. The
characteristics of the ionosphere vary with daylight
and darkness, and also with the four seasons. The
term "ionosphere" is used particularly in referring
to the electrical characteristics of the region, while
"exosphere" is the name used when referring to the
meteorological aspects.

34

Higher Atmospheres

The reaches of space beyond the ionosphere
have not been fully explored and much of the
information about them is conjecture. Much
information about the upper air has been
transmitted to earth from orbiting satellites and
spacecraft which have carried instruments to
measure radiation, temperature, and other
information that could be measured.
Weather information, and reports of meteorites
and micrometeorites are recorded. There is still a
great deal more to learn about space. If you read
different writers on the subject, you will find
variations in statements about the size of
atmospheric zones and even differences in names
for the regions. As conjecture is replaced by real
information, these differences will be resolved.
Several belts of high intensity charged particles,
called Van Allen Belts, surround the earth in space.
They were discovered by the early U. S. satellites,
Explorer I and Explorer II, in 1958. The zones
fluctuate and it is believed solar flares or other
phenomena of the sun cause the changes. It is
almost certain that the outer zone owes its
existence to ionized solar gas ejected from the sun.

BASIC FLIGHT PRINCIPLES

The principles of low speed aerodynamics which
underlie the operation of most aircraft also apply to
missiles, at least in the first few seconds of flight.
Before we discuss high speed missile flight, let us
consider the motions and forces that are common
to both guided missiles and conventional airplanes
flying at low speeds.

BASIC MOTIONS

Like any moving body, the guided missile
executes two basic kinds of motions: rotation and
translation. In pure rotation all parts of a body
pivot about the center of gravity, describing
concentric circles around it. In movements of
translation, or linear motions, the center of gravity
of a body moves along a line, and all the separate
parts follow lines parallel to the path of the center
of gravity. Any possible motion of the body is
composed of one or the other of these motions, or
is a combination of the two.
Since missiles are free to move in three
dimensions, we describe their motions by using a
reference system containing three reference
lines, or axes. The missile axes (fig. 3-3A) are
mutually perpendicular lines which intersect at the
center of gravity of the missile.

A missile can make three kinds of rotary
movements: pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch, or turning
up or down is rotation about the lateral or Y axis of
the missile (fig. 3-3B).

The missile rolls, or twists, about the
longitudinal axis, which is the reference line
running through the nose and tail and designated
the X axis in figure 3-3C. It yaws, or turns to the
right or left, about the Z or vertical axis (fig. 3-3D).
Rotary motions about all three of these axes are
controlled by devices within the missile. Hereafter,
these axes will be referred to as the pitch axis, the
roll axis, and the yaw axis.
The second type of movement is called
translation. Translation includes any linear
movement of the missile. For example, a sudden
gust of wind or an air pocket could throw a missile
a considerable distance off its trajectory without
causing any significant angular movement. If you
have ever flown in an airplane, this should be fairly
easy to understand. If the plane hits an air pocket, it
may drop sever al hundred feet, but still maintain a
straight and level altitude. Any linear movement,
regardless of direction, can be resolved into three
components: lateral movement, vertical movement
and movement in the direction of thrust. So,
besides the three angular degrees of movement, we
have three linear degrees of movement. A missile
in flight can therefore be said to have six degrees
of movement, or freedom.
In an airplane. the pilot checks his instruments or
visually observes angular and linear movement. On
the basis of his observations, he repositions the
control surfaces as necessary to keep the plane
where he wants it.
Since we don't have a pilot in a guided missile to
note these movements, we install devices that will
detect them, as will be discussed in chapter 4.

AERODYNAMIC FORCES

The principal forces acting on a missile in level
flight are thrust, drag, weight, and lift. Like any
forces, each of these is a vector quantity. You will
remember from your study of Mathematics,
Navpers 10069-C, that a vector has magnitude
(length) and direction. These forces are illustrated
in figure 3-4.
Thrust (force) is directed along the longitudinal
axis of the missile and is the force

35

36

which propels it forward at speeds sufficient to
sustain flight. Drag is the resistance air offers to the
passage of the missile through air, and is directed
rearward. The weight of the missile is the pull of
gravity on the missile, and is directed downward
toward the center of the earth. Opposed to the force
of gravity is lift, an upward force which supports
the missile. Lift is directed perpendicular to the
direction of drag.
Lift is produced by means of pressure
differences. The primary factor contributing to lift
is that the air pressure on the upper surface of an
airfoil (wing) must be less than the pressure on the
underside. The amount of lifting force provided is
dependent to a large extent on the shape of the
wing. Additional factors which determine the
amount of lift are the wing area, the angle at which
the wing surface is inclined to the airstream (angle
of attack), and the density and speed of the air
passing around it. The airfoil that gives the greatest
lift with the least drag in subsonic (less than the
speed of sound) flight has a shape similar to the
one illustrated in figure 3-5.
Some of the standard terms applied to airfoils
are included in the sketch. The foremost edge of
the wing is called the leading edge, and that at the
rear the trailing edge (fig. 3-5A). A straight line
between the leading and the trailing edges is called
the chord. The distance from one wingtip to the
other (not shown) is known as the SPAN. The
angle of incidence (fig. 3-5B) is the angle between
the wing chord and the longitudinal axis of the
fuselage. In figure 3-5C, the large arrow indicates
the relative wind, the direction of the airflow with
reference to the moving airfoil. The angle of attack
is the angle between the chord and the direction of
the relative wind.

In actual flight, a change in the angle of attack
will change the airspeed. But if for test purposes
we maintain a constant velocity of the airstream
while changing the angle of attack, the results on
the nonsymmetrical wing will be as shown in
figure 3-6. The sketches show a wing section at
various angles of attack, and the effect these
different angles have on the resultant force and the
position of the center of pressure. The burble point
referred to in

37

figure 3-6C and D is the point at which airflow
over the upper surface becomes rough, causing an
uneven distribution of pressure. Note that the
center of pressure changes with the angle of attack.
The relative wind strikes the tilted surface, and
as the air flows around the wing, different amounts
of lifting force are exerted on various points on the
airfoil. The sum (resultant) of all these forces is
equivalent to a single force acting at a single point
and in a particular direction. This point. is called
the center of pressure. From it, lift can be
considered to be directed perpendicular to the
direction of the relative wind.
The dynamic or impact force of the wind against
the lower surface of the airfoil also contributes to
lift, but no more than one-third of the total lift
effect is provided by this impact force.

ACCELERATION

Acceleration is rate of change, either in speed or
in direction of motion or both. A missile
accelerates in a positive or negative sense as it
increases or decreases speed along its line of flight.
It also accelerates in a positive or negative sense as
it changes direction in turns, dives, pullouts, and as
a result of gusts of wind. During accelerations a
missile is subjected to large forces which tend to
keep it flying along its original line of flight. This
is in accordance with Newton's first law of motion
which states:
A particle remains at rest or in a state of uniform
motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an
external force.
Like gravity, acceleration is measured in terms
of g's. The acceleration of a body in free fall is said
to be one "g." Missiles making rapid turns or
responding to large changes in thrust will
experience accelerations many times that of
gravity, the ratio being expressed as a number of
"g's." The number of "g's" which a missile can
withstand is one of the factors which determines its
maximum turning rate and the type of launcher
suitable for the weapon. The delicate instruments
contained in a missile may be damaged if subjected
to accelerations in excess of design values.

MACH NUMBERS AND SPEED
REGIONS

Missile speeds are expressed in terms of Mach
numbers rather than in miles per hour or knots. The
Mach number is the ratio of missile speed to the
local speed of sound. For example, if a missile is
flying at a speed equal to one half the local speed
of sound, it is said to be flying at Mach 0.5. If it
moves at twice the local speed of sound, its speed
is then Mach 2.

38

Local Speed Of Sound

The speed expressed by the Mach number is not
a fixed quantity, because the speed of sound in air
varies directly with the square root of air
temperature. For example, it decreases from 760
miles per hour (mph) at sea level (for an average
day when the air is 59~) to 661 mph at the top of
the troposphere. The speed of sound remains
constant (with the temperature) between 35,000
feet and 105,000 feet, then rises to 838 mph,
reverses, and falls to 693 mph at the top of the
stratosphere. Thus, you can see that the speed of
sound will vary with locality.
The range of aircraft and missile speed is
divided into four regions which are defined with
respect to the local speed of sound. These regions
are as follows.
SUBSONIC FLIGHT, in which the airflow over
all missile surfaces is less than the speed of sound.
The subsonic division starts at Mach 0 and extends
to about Mach 0.75. (The upper limit varies with
different aircraft, depending on the design of the
airfoils.)
TRANSONIC FLIGHT, in which the airflow
over the surfaces is mixed, being less than sonic
speed in some areas and greater than sonic speed in
others. The limits of this region are not sharply
defined, but are approximately Mach 0.75 to Mach
1.2.
SUPERSONIC FLIGHT, in which the airflow
over all surfaces is at speeds greater than sound
velocity. This region extends from about Mach 1.2
upward.
HYPERSONIC FLIGHT, in which the time of
passage of the missile is of the order of relaxation
time. (Relaxation time is the time required for
molecules of air to adjust themselves after the
passage of the body.) Mach numbers on the order
of 10 may be considered as hypersonic. Velocities
that are not hypersonic at sea level may become so
at high altitudes, since relaxation times will be
longer where densities are relatively low.

Subsonic Flight

At subsonic speeds, sustained flight is dependent
on forces produced by the motion of the
aerodynamic surfaces through the air. If the
surfaces of airfoils are well designed, the stream of
air flows smoothly over, under, and around them.
And the air stream conforms to the shape of the
airfoil. If, in addition, the airfoils are set to the
proper angle, and if motion is fast enough,
the airflow will support the weight of the aircraft or
missile.
Since most modern missiles are supersonic, with
only a few seconds of flight in the subsonic region
of speed, the forces that affect missile flight at
supersonic speeds are of more importance to you.

Missile Speed and Air Flow

A missile thrusting its way through the
atmosphere may be compared to a boat pushing its
way through the water. You can see the effect on
water, so picture the air waves the same way. A
boat moving slowly through the water gently
pushes the water out of the way, but if it speeds up,
the water is churned up into rushing waves that
require increased thrust to push through. An object
pushing through the air produces small pressure
disturbances in the air, and each pressure wave
expands equally in all directions, moving at the
speed of sound. As long as the object is moving
more slowly than the air waves, there is no buildup
of pressure waves, but as the speed increases, the
air waves begin to pile up in front of the object.
When the speed of the object reaches the speed of
sound the pressure waves can no longer outrun it,
and the piled up airstream just ahead of the object
collides with the unmoved air farther ahead, which
a moment before was completely undisturbed. This
causes a shock wave at the boundary between the
air stream and the undisturbed air. The air stream is
reduced in speed very rapidly and at the same time
the pressure, density, and temperature increase. A
normal shock wave is usually very strong, and the
air passes through without changing direction (fig.
3-7A), but always changes from supersonic to
subsonic velocity. In an oblique shock wave (fig.
3-7C), the airstream changes direction upon
passing through the transition marked by the
wavefront. These waves are produced in supersonic
airstreams at the point of entry of wedge- shaped or
other sharply pointed bodies. The change in speed,
density, pressures, and temperature are generally
less severe than with normal perpendicular shock
waves.

STABILITY AND LIFT IN
MODERN MISSILES

So far we have discussed the principles of
producing lift by the use of cambered (curved)
wings. Cambered wings are still used on
conventional aircraft, but are not used on most

39

present day guided missiles. Most operational
missiles use streamlined fins to provide stability
and some lift.
In some missiles lift is achieved entirely by the
thrust of the main propulsion system. The Navy's
Polaris missile, for example, has no fins.
The flight of an arrow is an example of the
stability provided by fixed fins. The feathered fins
on an arrow present streamlined airflow surfaces
which ensure accurate flight. Since supersonic
missile fins are not cambered, a slightly different
lift principle is involved than with the conventional
wing. At subsonic speeds a positive angle of attack
will result in impact pressure on the lower fin
surface which will produce lift just as with the
conventional wing. At supersonic speeds, the
formation of expansion waves and oblique shock
waves also contributes to lift. Figure 3-7B shows
the upper surface of a supersonic fin. Due to the fin
shape, the air is speeded up through a series of
expansion waves. This results in a low pressure
area above the fin. Figure 3-7C shows the fin cross
section. Beneath the fin, the force of the airstream
(dynamic pressure) and the formation of oblique
shock waves result in a high pressure area. The
differences in pressure above and below the fin
produce lift.

Control Surfaces, External

Movable fins, called control surfaces, provide a
means for controlling missile flight attitude. A
control surface provides control by presenting an
obstacle to airflow. This causes a force (due to
impact pressure) to be exerted on the surface. The
magnitude of the force depends on the angle
between the control surface and the direction and
speed of airflow. In figure 3-8, we are looking at
one effect of control surface movement.
Fixed (stabilization) fins and movable control
surfaces may be located in several ways on the
missile. In figure 3-9A and B, we see two possible
combinations. In the first, control is achieved by
movement of control surfaces located at the
missile's center of gravity. In the second, ~ control
is achieved by movement of tail surfaces. ; Other
combinations are possible, and are used in some
operational missiles. The important thing for you to
remember is that control is attained due to impact
pressure exerted on the control surfaces, and that
fixed fins contribute primarily to stability. If you
have ever watched an airplane being landed and
noticed how the pilot tilted

40

certain portions of the wings, folded other parts,
and extended other portions, you have some
conception of how movement of missile wings,
fins, tails, or other control surfaces can be used to
change the course of the missile.

FIN DESIGNS. - Supersonic fins are
symmetrical in thickness cross section and have a
small thickness ratio - the ratio of the maximum
thickness to the chord length. The double wedge,
shown in figure 3-10, has the least
drag for a given thickness ratio, but in certain
applications is inferior because it lacks strength. As
you saw in figure 3-7C, the air flows over and
under a double wedge airfoil without developing a
severe shock wave.
The modified double wedge has a relatively low
drag (although its drag is usually higher than a
double wedge of the same thickness ratio) and is
stronger than the double wedge. The biconvex,
shown in figure 3-10, has about one-third more
drag than a double wedge of the same thickness
ratio. It is the strongest of the three but is difficult
to manufacture.
The planform of the fins - the outline when
viewed from above - is usually either of the delta-
modified delta (raked tip) or rectangular types
shown in figure 3-11A. These shapes considerably
reduce unwanted shock wave effects.
Figure 3-11B shows some of the movable parts
of control surfaces that help to offset unstabilizing
forces and to keep the missile on course. The
ailerons on the wings help in roll control. When
one aileron is raised, the other is lowered; the wing
with the raised aileron moves down and the other
moves up. Elevators attached to the horizontal tail
fins are raised or lowered together and help in pitch
control. The rudders on the vertical tail fins may be
used for tail

41

control. If one rudder is moved to the right, the tail
moves to the left and the missile yaws to the right.
In most missiles in present use, the movements of
the various parts are caused by the hydraulic
system in the missile, which receives instructions
electrically as to what moves are necessary to keep
the missile on its course.
The Bullpup missile uses a form of tab (fig. 3-
11B) as a method of control. Some of the newer
missiles combine two devices, such as an elevator
and an aileron, into an elevon, which allows
control of both pitch and yaw by a single control
mechanism.

ARRANGEMENT OF FINS. - Fins are mounted
on the airframe in several arrangements, some of
which are shown in figure 3-12. The
CRUCIFORM is the most popular tail
arrangement. It is used in surface-to-air missiles.
Both the INLINE and INTER-DIGITAL cruciform
arrangements are widely used, especially for
supersonic missiles.

Control Surfaces, Internal

We mentioned earlier that some missiles do not
have external control surfaces such as wings, fins,
and tails. They may have small control surfaces
that must be supplemented by other means of
control. Two types have been used as auxiliary
controls-exhaust vanes and jet control.
Exhaust vanes are control surfaces mounted
directly in the exhaust path of a jet or rocket engine
(fig. 3-13B). When the exhaust vanes are moved
they deflect the exhaust, resulting in a change in
the direction of thrust so as to keep the missile
pointed in the desired direction. Even when the
missile has just begun to move after launching, the
exhaust velocity is very high. One disadvantage is
that the tremendous heat of the exhaust makes the
life of the vanes very short. The German V-2
missile used exhaust vanes of carbon; these lasted,
on the average, about 60 seconds before they were
burned up completely. Various forms of vanes are
used and may be called jet vanes, jetevators, or
jetevons. Some are fixed and some are movable.

42

Movable jets are another method of controlling
the flight attitude of a missile. One method is to
mount the engine itself in gimbals (fig. 3-13C), and
turn the whole engine to deflect the exhaust stream.
This system requires that the engine be fed with
flexible fuel lines, and the control system that turns
the engine must be very powerful. Also, it cannot
control roll of the missile. To get control of all
axes, two gimbal- mounted jets may be positioned
in the missile. Both jets must be free to move in
any direction, and must be able to respond to
signals from any of the three control channels
(pitch, roll, and
yaw). Another system uses four movable jets
mounted in the aft end of the missile. Two jets
control yaw, two control pitch, and all four together
control roll. Sometimes a fifth jet is fixed in the
middle, in the space between the movable jets.
Fixed steering jets (fig. 3-13A) are placed around
(inside) the missile so as to give directional control
by exerting a force in one direction or another. Heat
shields are necessary to protect the main body of the
missile against the heat of exhaust from the jets.
The use of these auxiliary jets makes it possible to
eliminate all outside control surfaces. Missiles and
spacecraft that reach into the higher, rare
atmospheres, where external control surfaces are of
little use, must depend on internal control means.

MISSILE AIRFRAMES

The airframe of a guided missile serves the same
purpose as the airframe of the conventional aircraft:
it carries the necessary components and controls to
ensure proper flight. But, since the guided missile is
essentially a one-shot weapon, the body structure
can be simpler in structure than that of a
conventional aircraft. Missile bodies are designed
so that inner components are readily available for
testing, removal, and repair. The major components
are mounted to form independent units. Adequate
room is provided to permit slack in electrical cables
and harnesses so that inner sections can be removed
easily during maintenance.

43

The configuration of a guided missile is the
principal factor controlling the drag and lift forces
that act on it as it passes through the atmosphere.
Supersonic missiles must be designed for minimum
drag. Both lift and drag are directly proportional to
the square of missile speed. The shape of the nose,
the body, and external control surfaces (if used)
must be scientifically designed to obtain a
maximum of lift and a minimum of drag.

Another effect that must be considered in missile
design is that of heat. Heat results not only from
friction as the missile passes through the
atmosphere, but also from the temperature rise
caused by the ram effects as the air is compressed
by the speeding missile. A significant part of the
development effort for long-range ballistic missiles
has been devoted to development of nose cones
capable of withstanding extreme temperatures.

Most missile bodies are slender cylindrical
structures similar to those shown in figure 3-9.
Several types of nose sections are used. If the
missile is intended for supersonic speeds, the
forward section may have a pointed arch profile in
which the sides taper in lines called ogive curves
(fig. 3-14A). Missiles which fly at lesser speeds
may have blunt noses as shown in figure 3-14B.
Rounded noses which house radar equipment may
look like the one in figure 3-14C. Figure 3-14D
shows an air-breathing missile nose which includes
the duct for the ramjet propulsion system. The nose
design of our ICBM has been modified several
times, each one made to meet the need of the
missile design with the least drag effect.

Most modern missiles are made up of several
sections. Each section is a cylindrical shell
machined from metal tubing rather than a builtup
structure with internal bracing. Each shell contains
one of the essential units or components of the
missile, such as the propulsion system, the
electronic control equipment, the warhead, or the
fuze assembly.
Sectionalized construction has the advantage of
strength with simplicity, and also provides ease in
replacement and repair of the components since the
shells are removable as separate units. The sections
are joined by various types of connections designed
for simplicity of operation. Access ports are
sometimes provided in shells, through which
adjustments can be made prior to launching.

MISSILE PROPULSION SYSTEMS

Guided missiles must travel at high speeds to be
effective. To reach high speeds, missiles use jet
propulsion. This chapter will introduce the theory
of jet propulsion and several types of propulsion
systems. Before you can understand how jet
propulsion works, you need to know the basic laws
of physics that apply to gases and liquids; then you
can see how they are applied in jet propulsion of
missiles.

GASES UNDER PRESSURE

Before taking up propulsion systems, let us look
at the way gases are affected by variations in
pressure and temperature. As a Gunner's Mate
(Missile) you will use pressurized gases in many
ways. Gases at high temperatures and pressures are
used in the main propulsion systems of missiles.
These gases may be in the form of high pressure air
(or other inert gases) stored in flasks, or in the form
of fuel combustion products.

From the safety standpoint it is especially
important that you understand the theory of
pressurized gases. Gases under pressure can be
extremely dangerous if not handled in accordance
with the applicable safety precautions. Many of
these precautions will be presented later in this
manual.

44

Theory

If you put a pint of milk into a quart bottle, the
milk does not expand and fill the entire bottle.
However, if you fill an inflatable life jacket with a
CO
2
cartridge, the gas expands to occupy a much
greater volume than it did formerly. You can easily
measure the volume of a liquid, but the volume that
a gas will occupy depends on the pressure to which
it is subjected. Also, gases expand when heated,
and contract when cooled. Since the volumes of
gases depend on pressure and temperature, we
must establish a standard of temperature and pres
sure for measuring volume.

ABSOLUTE PRESSURE. - Although we live at
the bottom of an ocean of air, we do not feel the
pressure which the atmosphere exerts on us
because it is equal in all directions. Atmospheric
pressure at sea level will support a column of
mercury 30 inches high. This pressure is equal to
14.7 psi (pounds per square inch).
In all problems involving the laws of gases,
pressure should be figured in pounds per square
inch absolute, which is the gauge pressure plus
14.7 psi at sea level.

Absolute Temperature

The temperature of a gas can be measured with
respect to an absolute zero value. This value, which
is usually expressed in terms of the centigrade
scale, represents one of the fundamental constants
of physics. (The relationship between the
Centigrade and Fahrenheit scales can be seen in
figure 3-15.) It was established experimentally
during a series of tests made in the study of the
kinetic theory of gases.
According to this view, a gas, like other forms of
matter, is composed of molecules made up of
combinations of atoms. Normally, the molecules of
any substance are in constant motion. In the
gaseous state, the motions are assumed to be
entirely random. That is, the molecules move freely
in any direction and are in constant collision, both
among themselves and with the walls of the
container (fig. 3-16A). The moving particles
possess energy of motion, or kinetic energy, the
total of which is equivalent to the quantity of heat
contained in the gas. When heat is added, the total
kinetic energy is increased. When the gas is cooled,
the thermal agitation is diminished and the
molecular velocities are lowered.

The molecules do not all have the same velocity,
but display a wide range of individual velocities.
The temperature of the gas, according to the kinetic
theory, is determined by the average energy of the
molecular motions. PRESSURE is accounted for
by considering it as resulting from the
bombardment of the walls of the container by the
rapidly flying molecules. The particles are
considered to have perfect elasticity, so that they
rebound from the walls with the same velocities
with which they strike them.

In accordance with the kinetic theory, if the heat
energy of a given gas sample could be reduced
progressively, a temperature would be reached at
which the motions of the molecules would cease
entirely. If known with accuracy, this temperature
could then be taken as the absolute zero value. It
was the purpose of the experiments mentioned
above to establish the existence and value of this
temperature, which was predicted by the kinetic
theory.

Since any change in the temperature of a gas
causes a corresponding change in the pressure, it
was necessary to consider temperature, pressure,
and volume together. Hydrogen gas was enclosed
in a cylinder containing a movable piston, so that
the volume could be adjusted to maintain the initial
pressure. The experiment was started with the gas
at a temperature of 0 centigrade.

45

It was found that when the gas was cooled
enough to drop the temperature by 1C, the volume
had to be decreased by moving the piston in order
to keep the sample at the same pressure. The new
gas volume was then equal to 272/273 the volume
at 0C. As the temperature was lowered further, the
volume (for constant pressure) decreased by an
amount equal to 1/273 the initial volume for each
decrease of one centigrade degree.

If, however, the volume was kept constant by
keeping the piston unchanged in position, it was
found that the pressure varied at the same rate.
That is, it decreased by an amount equal to 1/273
the pressure at 0 C for each drop of 1 in the
temperature.
The same rates of change of volume and
pressure were found to be present in all gases; and
they were uniform over a wide range of
temperature. All these facts led to the conclusion
that if any gas were cooled to -273C (actually -
273.16), with the pressure kept constant, the
volume would shrink to zero. However, all known
gases change to the liquid state before this
temperature is reached. Also, if the volume were
maintained at the initial value, the pressure would
approach zero as the temperature approached this
same value. It was then assumed that -273C
represents the theoretical absolute zero point at
which all molecular motion ceases, and no more
heat remains in the substance.
The existence of absolute zero cannot be
determined directly by observing the volume

46

of gas cooled to -273C, since all gases are
converted to the liquid state before this temperature
is reached. In many experiments, however, this
condition has been approached closely, the actual
temperature reached being within a small fraction
of a degree of the theoretical zero value.

THE KELVIN SCALE. - When temperatures are
measured with respect to -273C they are said to be
expressed in the absolute, or Kelvin, scale. Specific
absolute temperatures are designated by the letter
K. Thus, 0 C is equivalent to 273 K, 20 C equals
293 K, and 100 C equals 373 K. The
relationship between the three temperature scales is
shown in figure 3-15. The Kelvin scale is used in
scientific work. In formulas, Kelvin temperatures
in general are represented by T and Centigrade or
Fahrenheit temperatures by t.

Gas Laws

The natural laws that affect the behavior of gases
were determined by experiments by scientists long
ago. The first of these is Boyle's law (Robert
Boyle, 1627-1691), which is stated as follows:

"The volume of any dry gas, the
temperature remaining constant, varies
inversely with the pressure on it; that is, the
greater the pressure, the smaller the volume
becomes."

Figure 3-16B illustrates this law, showing the
volume halved when the pressure is doubled,
where F represents force applied. In the second part
of the picture, there are twice as many gas
molecules per unit of volume (density is double),
and twice as many collisions per second.
This law may be stated as an algebraic formula:

V
1
P
l
= V
2
P
2

where V
1
and P
1
refer to the original volume and
pressure, and V
2
and P
2
refer to the new volume
and pressure. This equation is true only if the
temperature has remained the same. Although this
law was formulated for a perfect or ideal gas, it
holds closely for ordinary gases except under high
compression, when a modified equation is applied.
A second gas law has to do with the effects of
changes in temperature:
All gases expand and contract to the same extent
under the same change of temperature, provided
there is no change in pressure. In general, when the
pressure is kept constant, the volume of a gas is
proportional to its absolute temperature (Kelvin).
This is known as Charles' law. See figure 3-16 C. It
is also known as the Gay-Lussac law.
In equation form this becomes:

V
1
T
1

___ = ___
V
2
T
2

where V is the volume and T is the absolute
temperature (Kelvin).
Finally, since the volume of a gas increases as
the temperature rises, it is reasonable to expect that
if a confined sample of gas were heated, its
pressure would increase. Experiments have shown
that the pressure of any gas kept at a constant
volume increases for each degree centigrade rise
very nearly 1/273 of its pressure at 0 C. Because
of this finding it is convenient to state this
relationship in terms of absolute temperatures. For
all gases at constant volume, the pressure is
proportional to the absolute temperature.
The first two formulas (Charles' law and Boyle's
law) may be combined to give the general gas law,
by which the effect may be computed of the
variation of any or all of the three quantities -
pressure, volume, and temperature - at the same
time.
It is not likely that you will have to perform
computations with any of these formulas, but the
effects of the gas laws influence your daily work.
Although air is a mixture of gases, it obeys the
same laws. You have just studied how changes in
air density and pressure affect missile flight. The
combustion gases formed by the burning propellant
inside the missile respond to the same laws. Gases
that you use in various ways in your work aboard
ship, such as compressed air, oxygen, and carbon
dioxide, conform to the gas laws. A number of the
safety regulations are necessary because of the way
these gases behave. You can see there are plenty of
reasons why you should know how gases react to
different situations.

PRINCIPLE OF JET PROPULSION.

The principle of jet propulsion is based on Sir
Isaac Newton's third law of motion which

47

states that "For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction." As an example of the reaction
principle, remember your firefighting training in
boot camp. You will probably recall your first
experience with a large diameter high pressure
firehose. With the hose pressurized and the nozzle
closed, a single man can handle the charged
firehose; but as soon as the nozzle is opened, two
or three men are required. The reason for this is
that as soon as water is permitted to escape from
the nozzle, reaction to this water flow causes the
nozzle to buck or kick in the opposite direction.
The amount of reaction or "thrust" is equal to the
force of the escaping water. This force can be
determined by measuring the mass and velocity of
the water which escapes.

The two most common methods by which we
produce thrust are by mechanical means (pumps or
fans), and by thermal means (chemical reaction).
The firehose is an example of a mechanical jet.
Another example of the mechanical jet may be
found in nature. The squid draws water into its
body and then by muscle contraction forces this
water rearward through a small opening at an
increased velocity, thus propelling itself forward.

In guided missiles we are concerned with
thermal jets - those that operate by reaction to the
exhaust of combustion gases. It is a common
misconception that a jet engine is dependent on the
atmosphere to obtain its thrust,
or force, in the direction of motion. (Air- breathing
jets require air for oxygen to support combustion of
the propellant.) Actually, thrust is the reaction to
the ejection of exhaust gases. If you take a firehose
and direct the water stream against a wall, the
reaction force experienced is the same as if the wall
were not there. To continue the analogy, missile
thrust is the same regardless of whether the missile
is in the atmosphere or in the vacuum of space. Jet
engines are frequently called reaction motors, since
the exhaust gases produce the action while the
opposite motion of the missile or aircraft represents
the reaction.

Figure 3-17 charts the types of jet propulsion
systems. The systems falling under the heading of
rockets are those which carry within themselves all
the materials necessary for their operation. In most
rockets these materials include an oxidizer. An
oxidizer is a substance which contains the oxygen
necessary to support combustion of the fuel. (You
will remember that a rocket was defined earlier as a
missile with an independent propulsion system.)
Rockets are sometimes referred to as air-
independent units, since they do not rely on the
oxygen in the atmosphere.

The atmospheric jets, on the other hand, depend
on air to support combustion. Both the rocket and
the atmospheric jet receive their thrust as a reaction
to the exhaust of combustion gases.

48

It should be remembered that the rocket is the
only jet engine capable of operating outside the
earth's atmosphere.
Present day surface-to-air missiles have either
ramjet or solid propellant propulsion systems. In
this section we will discuss only these two types.

COMPONENTS OF JET
PROPULSION SYSTEMS

To achieve high thrust, it is necessary to produce
large quantities of exhaust gases at high
temperatures and pressures. To produce these
exhaust gases, jet propulsion systems consist of a
combustion chamber, an exhaust nozzle, and a fuel
supply.

Combustion Chamber

The combustion chamber is that part of the
system in which the chemical action (combustion)
takes place. Combustion is necessary to provide
thrust. Useful thrust cannot be attained in an
atmospheric jet unless the combustion products are
exhausted at a velocity greater than that of the
intake gases (air). The chamber is usually called a
cylinder, although it may have the shape of a
sphere. It must have the proper length and diameter
to produce a chamber volume suitable for complete
and stable combustion.
In all thermal jets, the heat energy released by
the combustion process is converted to kinetic
energy through expansion of the gases of
combustion as they pass through the exhaust
nozzle.

Exhaust Nozzle

An exhaust nozzle is a nonuniform chamber
through which the gases generated in the
combustion chamber flow to the outside. Its most
important areas are the mouth, throat, and exit.
These areas are identified in figure 3-18. The
function of the nozzle is to increase the velocity of
the gases. The principle involved was announced
many years ago by a Swiss physicist, Daniel
Bernoulli. Bernoulli's principle applies to any fluid
(gas or liquid). It may be stated as follows:
"Provided the weight rate of flow of a fluid is
constant, the speed of the fluid will increase where
there is convergence in the line. It will decrease
where there is a divergence in the line." Figure 3-
19 illustrates this principle. The velocity of the
fluid will increase at point 1. At the point of
divergence, point 2, the speed of the fluid will
decrease.

The increase in speed between points 1 and 2 is
caused by a conversion of potential energy (fluid
pressure) to kinetic energy. Thus, the pressure drop
of the fluid through the restriction is proportional
to the velocity gained. When the fluid reaches point
2, the kinetic energy is again converted to potential
energy. At point 2, the fluid velocity decreases, and
the pressure of the fluid increases.
This relationship also holds true for subsonic
flow of gases. In the convergent nozzle in figure 3-
20A, the speed will increase up to the speed of
sound, depending on the degree of convergence. In
the divergent nozzle in figure 3-20B, gases at
subsonic speeds will slow down, depending on the
degree of divergence.
Gases at supersonic (faster than sound) speed
behave differently. As these gases pass through the
divergent nozzle, their velocity is INCREASED
because of their high state of compression. The
drop in pressure at the point of divergence causes
an instantaneous release of kinetic energy. This
imparts additional speed to the gases. To obtain
supersonic exhaust velocity, the DeLaval nozzle in
figure 3-20C is commonly used. This nozzle

49

first converges to bring the subsonic flow up to the
speed of sound. Then the nozzle diverges, allowing
the gases to expand and produce supersonic flow.
The Prandtl nozzle (fig. 3-20D) is more efficient
than the straight-coned DeLaval nozzle but is more
difficult to engineer and produce. It increases the
rate of flow at a higher rate than the normal
convergent-divergent type. The shape of the nozzle
determines the characteristic of the gas flow, which
must be smooth.
Other nozzles of increasing importance are the
adjustable area type, in which the nozzle area is
varied to suit varying combustion environmental
conditions. The best size for the nozzle throat is
different for different propellants. The nozzle must
be designed for a specific set of propellant and
combustion characteristics to obtain higher velocity
and increased thrust.

Fuel Supply

The fuel supply consists of solids, liquids, gases,
or various combinations of these. However, fuels in
the gaseous state are rarely us~ in missiles. Liquids
or solids have a higher density than most gases,
even when the latter are highly compressed; thus a
larger quantity of solid or liquid fuel can be carried
in a given space. Many factors must be considered
when selecting the fuel or fuels to be used in a
certain missile. Among these factors are cost,
availability, safety, ease of handling and storage,
storage life, and amount of "push" it will furnish to
the missile.

ROCKET FUELS. - Several means have been
worked out for rating, or comparing, various rocket
fuels (propellants). Comparison is made by
determining total impulse. Total impulse is the
product of the thrust in pounds times burning time
in seconds. Or,

I
T
(Total Impulse in lb-sec) =
T (Thrust in lbs) x t (Duration in secs).

Solid propellants are rated, or compared, on the
basis of specific impulse. Specific impulse is the
amount of impulse produced by one pound of the
propellant. Stated in formula:

I
sp
(Specific Impulse in lb-sec/lb) =
I
T
(Total Impulse in lb-sec)
W (Weight of Solid Fuel in lbs)

50

A common method of comparing liquid
propellants is on the basis of specific thrust.
Specific thrust is equivalent to specific impulse [or
solid propellants but derived in a slightly different
way. Specific thrust is defined as the thrust in
pounds divided by the rate of fuel now in pounds
per second. Or,

T
sp
(Specific Thrust in lbs/lb/sec) =
_________T (Thrust in lbs)__________
W (Weight Rate of Flow in lb. per sec)

Specific thrust is expressed in seconds.
You sometimes may see the term "specific
impulse" used for liquid as well as solid
propellants. However, the term "specific thrust"
more correctly brings out the correct meaning for
liquids. As for solid propellants, it would be
impractical to attempt to measure the weight rate of
flow; therefore, specific impulse is used for
comparison of solid fuels.
Specific propellant consumption is another term
of importance in liquid propellant systems. [t is the
reciprocal of specific thrust. It is defined as the
propellant flow in pounds per second necessary to
produce one pound of thrust. Or,

Specific Propellant Consumption =
Weight Rate of Flow (lbs/sec)
Thrust (lbs)

Other terms you should know are mixture ratio
and exhaust velocity.
Mixture ratio designates the relative quantities of
oxidizer and fuel used in the propellant
combination. It is numerically equal to the weight
of oxidizer flow divided by weight of fuel flow.
(Many liquid propellants are stored in separate
containers, one holding the oxidizer, the other
containing the fuel, until the moment of use.)
Exhaust velocity is determined theoretically on
the basis of the energy content of the propellant
combination. The actual velocity of the exhaust
gases is of course less than this theoretical value
since no jet engine can completely convert the
energy content of the propellant into exhaust
velocity. Thus, effective exhaust velocity is
sometimes used and is determined on the basis of
thrust and propellant flow:

Effective Exhaust Velocity =
______Thrust (lbs)_______
Mass Rate of Flow (lbs/sec)
Solid Propellants

The ingredients of a solid propellant are mixed
so as to produce a solid of specified chemical and
physical characteristics. Some examples of
materials used in making solid propellants are
asphalt-oils, nitroglycerin, asphalt-potassium
perchlorates, black powder with ammonium nitrate,
and other recently developed combinations. The
finished product takes the shape of a grain, or stick.
A charge may be made up of one or more grains.
Do not think of a grain of propellant as the size of a
grain of sand or a grain of wheat. It may be that
small, but it may be several feet long, see figures 3-
30 and 3-31. Combustion of solid propellants will
be discussed later in this chapter.

An ideal solid propellant would:

1. Have a high specific impulse.
2. Be easy to manufacture from available raw
materials.
3. Be safe and easy to handle.
4. Be easily stored.
5. Be resistant to shock and temperature.
6. Ignite and burn evenly.
7. Be non-water-absorbent.
8. Be smokeless and flashless.
9. Have indefinite service life.

It is doubtful if a single propellant having all of
these qualities will ever be developed. Some of
these characteristics are obtained at the expense of
others, depending on the performance desired.

Liquid Propellants

The liquid propellants are classified as
monopropellants or as bipropellants.
Monopropellants are those which contain within
themselves both the fuel and oxidizer, and are
capable of combustion as they exist. Bipropellants
are those in which the fuel and oxidizer are kept
physically separated until they are injected into the
combustion chamber. An example of a
monopropellant would be the mixture of hydrogen
peroxide and ethyl alcohol; an example of
bipropellant would be liquid oxygen and kerosene.
While solid propellants are stored within the
combustion chamber, liquid propellants are stored
in tanks and injected into the combustion chamber.
In general, liquid propellants provide a longer
burning time than solid propellants.

51

They have a further advantage in that combustion
can be easily stopped and started at will by
controlling the propellant flow.
When oxygen or an oxygen-rich chemical is
used as an oxidizer, the best liquid fuels appear to
be those rich in both carbon and hydrogen.
In addition to the fuel and oxidizer, a liquid
propellant may also contain a catalyst to increase
the speed of the reaction. A catalyst is a substance
used to promote a chemical reaction between two
or more other substances.
Inert additives, which do not take part in the
chemical reaction, are sometimes combined with
liquid fuels. An example is water, which is often
added when alcohol is used as a fuel. Although the
water does not take part in the chemical reaction,
the water does provide additional particles which
contribute to a higher thrust by increasing the rate
of mass flow through the system.

An ideal liquid propellant would:

1. Be easy to manufacture from available raw
materials.
2. Yield a high heat of combustion.
3. Have a low freezing point.
4. Have a high specific gravity.
5. Have low toxicity and corrosive effects.
6. Have stability in storage.

As with the solid propellants, it is unlikely that
all of these characteristics can be combined in a
single fuel. One that has a high specific thrust may
be very toxic and therefore dangerous and difficult
to handle. Another may be very unstable and
difficult to store. Liquid oxygen is an example - it
must be kept in high pressure tanks until just before
launching. In spite of the best care, there is a large
loss by evaporation while transferring the oxygen
to the missile. No "best" propellant has been
discovered.

ATMOSPHERIC JETS

As mentioned previously, the atmospheric jet
relies on the surrounding atmosphere for oxygen to
support combustion. Ramjets fall under the
category of atmospheric jets. The first successful
application of atmospheric jets to missile
propulsion was the pulsejet engine used in the
German V-I missile, the "buzz bomb" of World
War II. It was so called because of the intermittent
or pulsating combustion process. An early U. S.
Navy missile used a pulsejet engine, but it is now
considered obsolete.
Another form of atmospheric jet is the turbojet.
It is not used in any Navy missiles at present but is
used in some aircraft. Three Air Force missiles are
turbojets - Matador, Mace, and Hound Dog. Future
inventions may make the turbojet principle
applicable to high speed missiles as well as to
aircraft.

Ramjet Engine

The ramjet shown in figure 3-21 is an
atmospheric jet which is essentially a pipe open at
both ends. From this the term "flying stove pipe"
originated. The principal parts of this engine are
the diffuser, the combustion chamber and
associated fuel-feed system, and the exhaust
nozzle. The combustion process in the ramjet is
continuous rather than intermittent as in the,
pulsejet. The ramjet has no bank of valve, to
restrict the flow of gases to one direction For this
reason, the ramjet must be boosted to a speed very
near its operating speed before. it takes over on its
own. To attain this speed a rocket or other type of
booster is used, an. it is generally larger and
heavier than the ramjet itself. The Talos missile for
example has a ramjet sustainer.
This engine is ideally suited to long range high-
speed missiles, since the thrust increase: with
speed, and the rate of fuel consumption per unit of
thrust decreases with speed. In other words, the
faster a ramjet flies, the greater it efficiency. The
ram action of the air increases with the speed of the
missile.

OPERATING CYCLE. - The cycle of subsonic
ramjet operation is as follows (fig. 3-22A)

1. The ramjet is boosted by a separate propulsion
unit to the required velocity. Ail enters the diffuser
inlet and, due to the increasing cross section,
decreases in velocity as it approaches the after end
of the diffuser (an application of Bernoulli's
principle).
2. This decrease in velocity is accompanied by
an increase in pressure, with the result that a
relatively high pressure barrier exists at the after
end of the diffuser.
3. Fuel, usually kerosene, is sprayed into the
combustion chamber through injection nozzles.
4. This fuel, thoroughly mixed with the
incoming air, is ignited by a spark plug.
5. The combustion gases tend to expand in all
directions.

52

6. Expansion in the forward direction is
restricted by the pressure barrier existing at the
after end of the diffuser; consequently, the gases
must expand down the tailpipe and leave the
exhaust nozzle with a greater velocity than that of
the air at the intake.

Once ignition takes place, there is no further
need for an electric spark because combustion is
continuous as long as the air-fuel mixture is
maintained with proper limits. The flame holder
(figs. 3-22A, B, C), prevents the flame from being
blown too far to the rear of the engine. Without it,
the flame could be blown out by the high speed air
stream.
The diffuser design is very important since a
higher pressure barrier results in greater thrust.
The operation of a supersonic ramjet (figs. 3-
22B and C) is the same as that of a subsonic
ramjet, with the following exceptions. First, the
supersonic jet must be boosted to a supersonic
speed. Second, a higher pressure barrier exists in
the supersonic engine, resulting in greater thrust.
Talos missiles have supersonic ramjet propulsion
systems.
Note the differences in the shape of the diffuser
section and the throat in figure 3-22. They must be
designed for a predetermined missile speed,
according to Bernoulli's principle. Note, too, that
the fuel injection systems can be varied. The effect
of the shape of the exit nozzle on the speed of the
exhaust gases is also illustrated. Compare the
nozzles in figure 3-22 with those in figure 3-20.
ROCKETS

Present day operational rockets may be divided
into two classes - solid propellant and liquid
propellant.
The more important characteristics of all rocket
engines are:

1. The thrust of a rocket is nearly constant, and
is independent of speed.
2. Rockets will operate in a vacuum.
3. Rockets have relatively few moving parts.
4. Rockets have a very high rate of propellant
consumption.
5. Burning time of the propellant in a rocket is
short.
6. Rockets need no booster. They have full thrust
at take off; therefore, when rockets do employ
boosters it is for the purpose of reaching a high
velocity in minimum time.

Solid Propellant Engines

The combustion chamber of a solid propellant
rocket contains the charge of solid propellant. Solid
propellant charges are of two basic types: restricted
burning and unrestricted burning (fig. 3-23). The
restricted burning charge is designed so that
burning is permitted on only one surface at a time.
A common example of restricted burning is a
lighted cigarette. The restricted burning charge
provides relatively low thrust and long burning
time. Uses of this type of charge include JATO
(jet-assisted take off) units, barrage rockets, and
sustaining rockets for guided missiles.

53

54

A modification of the restricted burning charge
is the bored restricted charge. The main difference
is that the longitudinal hole in the charge provides
somewhat more burning surface and thus a higher
thrust and shorter burning time.
In the unrestricted burning charge, burning takes
place on several surfaces at one time. This results
in a very high thrust during a short burning time.
This type of charge is commonly used in booster
rockets.
It should be clearly understood that in both the
restricted and unrestricted burning charges, the
burning rate is controlled - there is no explosion.
Controlling the burning rate of a solid propellant
has always presented a problem to rocket
designers. You will recall that one of the properties
of an ideal solid propellant would be that it ignite
and burn evenly. The burning rate may be
controlled in several ways. One is by means of
inhibitors. An inhibitor is any substance which
interferes with or retards combustion. The lining
and washer shown in figure 3-23 are examples of
inhibitors. Another way that burning is controlled
is by use of various grain shapes. Examples are the
shapes shown in the lower part of figure 3-23.
Resonant burning or "chugging" may be offset by
the use of resonance rods. There metal or plastic
rods are sometimes included in the combustion
chamber to break up regular fluctuations in the
burning rate and their accompanying pressure
variations. The purpose of the various designs is to
maintain
a constant burning area while the surface of the
grain is being consumed.
To start the combustion process, some form of
electrically detonated squib is ordinarily used to
ignite a smokeless or black powder charge. Upon
igniting, the black powder charge provides
sufficient heat and pressure to raise the exposed
surface of the propellant grain to a point where
combustion will take place.
Until fairly recently, a serious disadvantage of
the solid propellant had to do with the problem of
dissipating the extreme heat of combustion. One
way this has been overcome to a considerable
extent is by use of the internal burning grain. Since
the burning process actually takes place within the
grain, the outer portion of the grain provides a
shield between the intense heat and the combustion
chamber wall until the grain is almost completely
consumed.
Solid propellant rockets are particularly
adaptable to shipboard use. They are easily stored
and ready for immediate use. So great have been
the improvements in solid propellants in the past
few years that they are now used in such missiles
as the Navy's Polaris, Tartar, Standard, and Terrier,
and the Air Force's Minuteman.

Liquid Propellant Rockets

You know from your reading of the newspapers
that liquid fuel is used in space vehicles and
satellites and that this fuel is put into the tanks of
the space vehicles immediately before launching. A
missile cannot wait to be fueled when it is needed
for defense or offense-it must be ready. That is one
of the reasons why solid propellants have replaced
liquid propellants in most of our missiles.

COMPONENTS OF LIQUID-FUEL
ROCKETS. - The major components of a liquid-
rocket system are the propellant, propellant-feed
system, combustion chamber, igniter, and exhaust
nozzle. The feed systems may be of the pressure-
feed type or the pump-feed system, in which air or
some other gas (preferably inert) is stored under
pressure in the accumulator of the missile and is
used to force the proper amounts of propellant and
oxidizer into the combustion chamber when the
rocket is fired. Generated-pressure feed systems
contain substances, carried in the missile that
generate high-pressure gas as needed. An example
is hydrogen peroxide, which, when passed through
a catalyst, decomposes to form a high pressure
vapor. This vapor is then injected

55

into the storage tanks to force the propellant into
the combustion chamber.
Many other devices, such as valves, regulators,
deli very tubes, and injectors, are necessary for the
operation of either system.
Pump-feed systems are used in those missile
rocket motors which are designed to burn large
volumes of propellants and in power plants
requiring a high rate of flow. A pump-feed system
consists of a fuel pump and an oxidizer pump.
Each pump is driven by a turbine wheel. Power for,
the wheel may be developed by chemical gas or by
the rocket's exhaust gases. The auxiliary devices
and controls required by a pump-feed system are
far more complicated than for a stored-pressure
system and a complicated checkout is required.

PREPACKAGED LIQUID-FUEL ENGINES. -
The Bullpup missile can use a prepackaged liquid-
fuel engine. The first trials were made with the
prepackaged version used in place of the regular
solid propellant in Bullpup A, and can still be so
used. It is the standard fuel package for the Bullpup
B. The propellant and the oxidizer are in separate
containers until the missile is fired, when the two
liquids are mixed in controlled quantities and
combustion occurs upon contact. The containers
are designed so accidental mixing cannot occur.
The success of the prepackaged method in the
Bullpup missile gives the advantages of a liquid
propellant without its disadvantages. Research is
continuing in the development of high power fuels
that meet the requirements for storability, safety,
and cost.

HYBRID PROPULSION

A hybrid engine combines the use of liquid and
solid propellants. The liquid is the oxidizer and the
solid is the propellant. Neither will support
combustion by itself in the hybrid engine. Ignition
is usually hypergolic, that is, spontaneous ignition
takes place upon contact of the oxidizer with the
propellant. The combustion chamber is within the
solid grain, as in a solid-fuel rocket; the liquid
portion is in a tank with pumping equipment as in a
liquid-fuel rocket. This type is sometimes called a
forward hybrid to distinguish it from a reverse
hybrid, in which the oxidizer is solid and the fuel is
liquid. Combustion takes place on the inside
surface of the solid fuel, after the liquid fuel is
injected, and the combustion products are
exhausted through the nozzle to produce the thrust
as in other
rockets (fig. 3-24). Nozzle systems and control
methods are the same as in other reaction engines.
It is possible to start, stop, and restart the system as
in a liquid fuel system by shutting down or I'
reopening the liquid oxidizer flow system.
Missiles such as the Talos, which has a solid-
fuel booster and a liquid-fuel sustainer, are not
hybrid systems; the liquid and the solid propellants
do not interact.
The hybrid system has several advantages on
either solid or liquid systems by combining the
advantages of both. At present we do not have an
operational hybrid propulsion missile, but research
and development are continuing.

FEATURES OF SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES

Now that you have a little background in missile
flight and propulsion principles, we will relate
what you have studied to specific Navy surface-to-
air missiles (RIMs: see chapter 4). At this writing
there are four types of operational missiles: Talos,
Terrier, Tartar and Standard. As a GMM you will
maintain launching system equipment that stows,
handles, and launches Talos, Terrier, Tartar and
Standard missiles. Therefore, we will cover briefly
some of the characteristics and features of these
missiles.
Coupled with your launching system
maintenance duties, you will help handle and
maintain missiles. The more you know about the
missile you are working with, the better you can do
your job.

TALOS MISSILE ROUND

Figure 3-25 shows you what a Talos missile looks
like. It is the largest of the RIMs. Notice that it is
made up of two sections or stages. The first stage is
the booster; the second stage is the missile proper.
These two sections, when they are connected, form
what is called a complete round, weapon, or
missile booster combination. You will see the
terms used interchangeably.
First, consider the missile section. It only takes a
quick glance at figure 3-25 to see that Talos is a
ramjet propelled missile. The clue to recognizing it
as a ramjet is the diffuser opening in its nose (fig.
3-14). Four raked-tip biconvex (figs. 3-10, 3-11)
wings steer the missile. The wings are located near
the missile's center of gravity. Four fixed
rectangular fins are attached near the end of the
missile. Like the wings, they are biconvex. Both
wings

56

57

and fins are arranged in a cruciform pattern about
the missile body (fig. 3-12). The wings and fins are
in line with each other. Now. look at the booster.
You learned earlier that the purpose of a booster is
to propel the missile to flight speed. Talos has a
ramjet sustainer, and it operates most efficiently in
the supersonic range.

The Talos booster is a solid propellant rocket
unit. Basically, it consists of the propellant,
combustion chamber (called the case), igniter
assembly (includes arming and disarming
mechanisms), and exit nozzle.

The booster case is a long, round, metal tube. It
serves two purposes. First, it acts as a storage place
for the propellant, and second, it serves as a
chamber in which solid propellant burning takes
place. The propellant consists of nitrocellulose
explosive and a metal compound. These materials
are mixed together to make an even burning grain.
The grain is star shaped. When propellant grains
are shaped in this fashion, many constant burning
surfaces are provided. The booster produces a large
amount of thrust for a short time - in the order of 4
or 5 seconds. To reduce chugging, resonance rods
are placed along the length of the grain. The rods
absorb vibrations set up in the combustion
chamber.
The front end of the booster is enclosed by a
metal cap. The cap supports the igniter assembly.
The igniter consists of a small charge of
pyrotechnic material and several electrical squibs.
When current flows through the squibs the
pyrotechnic material starts burning. The material
generates enough heat and flame to ignite the main
rocket propellant.
Another unit attached to the head cap is the
booster arming-disarming device. Its purpose is to
mechanically open and close that portion of the
booster firing circuit that is in the booster igniter.
The rest of the firing circuit is in the launching
system. (We'll cover firing circuits in detail in
chapter 9 of this manual.) Boosters are in the
disarm (safe) condition while they are in stowage.
They are not armed until they are ready to be
launched. Then they are armed by a mechanical
device (called an arming tool) on the launcher.
A clamping arrangement on the head cap
connects the missile and its booster. When the
booster burns out, the clamp is released and the
booster falls away from the missile. Then the
missile continues on its way under its own
sustainer power.
An exit nozzle is at the after end of the booster
case. It compresses the propellant gases as they
escape through the opening in the nozzle. The
nozzle is a convergent-divergent (fig. 3-20) type.
The nozzle also provides a foundation for the four
fixed fins.
The only continuous physical contact the Talos
round has with its launcher is through the top set of
shoes. These hooklike metal lugs are solidly
attached to the booster case. And they fit into slots
cut into the launcher's guide rails. Igniter firing
contacts are located on the forward top shoe. The
bottom set of shoes are used to handle the weapon.
By handling we mean the operations and steps
involved in stowing the weapon and loading it on
the launcher.

TERRIER GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

Terrier is the name applied to a large family of
missiles. The most obvious common feature of
Terrier missiles is that each type has a separate
booster. Some Terriers have movable tails; others
have movable wings near the missile center of
gravity to do the steering job. The tail controlled
missiles have fixed fins that resemble the dorsal
fins of a sail fish or marlin. The earliest Terriers
put aboard ship were the wing-controlled BW-O
and BW-l. They are now obsolete as weapons but
may be used as target drones.
The beam-riding, tail-controlled missile,
designated the BT-3 (B for beam-riding the T for
tail-controlled) was next to be tested and improved.
The improvements included the BT-3A and the
BT-3B, each of which had a choice of warheads.
These, too, are no longer being produced, but there
are some around.
In the next chapter we will briefly cover the rest
of the Terrier family and point out the similarities
and differences between members. Now then, look
closely at figure 3-26. It shows the general outline
of the BT-3 and its booster. Variations in the mods
of the BT-3 will not be discussed here.
Let's start at the nose of the BT-3 and work aft.
The nose has an ogival shape, which is a
characteristic of most supersonic missiles. Four
fixed dorsal fins are attached to the missile in
cruciform arrangement. They stabilize the missile
and provide some lift. Four control surfaces, called
tails, steer the missile and keep it from rolling.
Another feature of the tails is that they can be
folded. This cuts down on the space needed for
stowage, and makes handling

58

easier. Before a missile is put on its launcher, the
tails are manually unfolded.

Notice the clamp ring between the end of the
missile and the head of the booster. The clamp
holds them together. For the present, we'll leave the
missile, and return to it in chapter 4.

Now consider figure 3-27. It shows a cutaway
drawing of the BT-3 booster. The drawing is
simplified but shows all the booster's essential
parts. The booster is basically a round steel shell,
closed at the forward end and open at the after end.
Four fixed fins (not shown in fig. 3-27) are
attached to the after end of the booster. The fins
simply help stabilize the complete round during the
boosted part of the missile's flight. Notice the shoes
at both ends of the booster. The top set is used to
hang the missile from the launcher. The bottom set
is used for handling the missile. The booster and
missile are held together by a mechanical clamping
device attached to the forward end of the booster.
An electrical connection is also made between
missile and booster. The booster igniter is in the
forward end of the booster, and is wired to contacts
on the upper forward shoe. Booster ignition current
is applied from the launcher to the pair of shoe
contacts and then to the igniter squibs.
On the top forward part of the booster you can
see an electrical receptacle (pad). It receives a
hydraulically operated contactor which extends
from the launcher and jabs into the pad. It can also
be retracted. (More about this in chapter 6.)
The separation action of booster from missile is
extremely crucial. It must take place very quickly
and smoothly so as not to disturb the flight of the
missile. Many other factors must be calculated by
the designers to/ achieve successful separation of
missile and booster in flight.

The HT-3 Terrier Missile

In outward appearance, the HT-3 missile is
much like the BT-3. Figure 3-28 shows the exterior
of the HT-3 and the BT-3 for comparison, and
indicates the location of the main components of
each. The booster is not shown; all mods of the
BT-3 and the HT-3 can use the same booster.
Much of the actual hardware is the same in the
BT-3 and the HT-3. The booster (mentioned
above), the sustainer, and the aft section are
identical.
The big difference is in the method of guidance
used. All mods of the BT-3 missile are beam-
riders, while the HT-3s are homing missiles. Semi
active homing is the type usually used, but some
mods have the capability of switching to passive
type of homing. Guidance methods are discussed in
the next chapter.
With a homing missile, its target seeker is in the
nose, or forward end of the missile. A radome
encloses the instruments to provide a streamline
shape to the missile; it is transparent to radar
waves, which the missile must receive and interpret
in order to locate the target.

59

Additional differences and similarities are
pointed out in chapter 4.

TARTAR MISSILE ROUND

Tartar does not have a separate booster. The
missile comes all in one piece as you can see in
figure 3-29. Instead of a separate booster, it has
what is called a dual thrust rocket motor (DTRM).
The DTRM has two propellant grains: one to boost
the missile to flight speed, and one to keep it flying
at this speed.
The Tartar missile looks just like the HT-3
Terrier, though it is considerably longer, so we
won't dwell on Tartar's physical appearance.
Briefly, it is round, with an ogival nose. Four fixed
dorsal fins are in line with four independently
movable tails. Unlike the other two missiles you
must read about, Tartar is designed to fly in either
of two flight positions.

Figure 3-30 shows a cutaway view of the
DTRM. You will notice that it has all the parts that
Terrier and Talos boosters have. There

60

is a booster igniter, and an igniter arming-
disarming device. An arming tool on the Tartar
launcher mechanically arms or disarms the igniter
circuit. Firing contacts on the missile skin scrape
contacts on the launcher to complete the missile-to-
launcher part of the firing circuit. The warmup pad
is not located in the same place as on Terrier and
Talos, but on the after face of the steering and
power section. This section fits around the tail pipe
and is indicated by the broken lines in figure 3-30.
The warmup pad has the same function, of course,
as the pads on Talos and Terrier - to provide an
external warmup power connection.
The Tartar propulsion unit is unique because it
has two separate grains in its propulsion system.
Figure 3-31 shows a cross- sectional view of the
DTRM as seen from the end of the missile. The
steering and control section have been removed.
You can see that the two grains are cast in a
concentric grain design-the sustainer grain encloses
the inner booster grain. There are no resonance
rods because the grains burn so smoothly that
chugging does not happen. The inner, or booster
part of the DTRM is a fast-burning type of
propellant and burns first and then the slower
burning propellant in the sustainer portion takes
over to furnish the thrust during the main part of
the missile's flight.

Several advantages of dual-thrust rocket motors
over separate boosters are:

1. There is no empty booster case to get rid of.
Sometimes booster cases fail to separate from the
missile, clamping devices fail to operate, or, during
handling the booster and missile are tightly
jammed together. Another problem caused by
empty boosters is related to safety. Care must be
taken to keep a booster from falling on another
ship. The booster splash point (the area in the sea
where the empty case will hit at the end of its fall)
must be predicted. This requires extra computing
equipment on board ship.
2. Heavy power-driven equipment is needed to
hold and to move the missile and separate booster
during the mating operation. These equipments are
not required for single-stage missiles.

61

STANDARD MISSILE ROUND

Figures 3-32 and 3-33 show the configuration of
the Standard missiles. There are two versions of the
Standard missiles: RIM-66A is a Medium Range
(MR) missile and RIM-67A is an Extended
Range (ER) missile. Both configurations are
surface-launched, supersonic guided missiles that
may be used against surface or air-borne targets.
Both the ER and MR missiles are cylindrical
with a VonKarman-shaped radome, and four dorsal
fins located in line with four independently
movable tails. The tails and fins are numbered in
the same manner as Terrier and Tartar.
The MR version, fig. 3-32. is launched and
propelled by a dual thrust rocket motor (based on
the same concept as Tartar). It consists of two
propellant grains (similar to the Tartar DTRM, fig.
3-31) cast concentrically in a steel shell which is
closed at the forward end and terminated at the aft
end with an extension tube and expansion cone. As
the booster is consumed, the sustainer (outer) grain
is ignited and provides the thrust necessary to
maintain velocity acquired during the boost phase.
The ER version, fig. 3-33, is launched and
propelled in two stages by a solid fuel rocket motor
(booster and sustainer). The booster is a cylindrical
rocket motor consisting of a dual- propellant grain
housed in a steel shell which is terminated at the aft
end in a nozzle and closed at the forward end by an
adapter assembly. When ignited, the booster grain
provides the initial thrust necessary to accelerate
the ER missile to supersonic velocities. The
sustainer is a cylindrical rocket motor consisting of
a propellant grain housed within a steel shell which
is closed at the forward end and terminated at the
aft end with a nozzle assembly. An in-flight
arming-firing device if armed by acceleration
during the boost phase

62

and thereafter, upon receipt of firing voltage,
ignites the igniter train. The sustainer provides the
necessary thrust to maintain the velocity acquired
during the boost phase.
The guidance system of the ER and MR missiles
operates as either a semiactive or passive homing
guidance system. Roll stabilization and steering are
accomplished by the movement of four
aerodynamic control surfaces (tails). Guidance
systems are discussed more in detail in chapter 4.

Missile operating power is provided by the
primary battery which consists of two electric ally
separate cell packs (electronic battery and
electromechanical battery) and an activator
assembly. The electronic cell block supplies power
to signal and low power level circuits. The
electromechanical cell block supplies power to
major power consumption circuits. Both cell packs
are of the silver zinc type and are inactive until
filled (at launch) with the electrolyte contained in
the activator assembly. Battery power eliminates
the need for hydraulics and for power conversion
during flight.

CONCLUSION

The material in this chapter will be extremely
valuable to you in your duties as a Gunner's Mate
Missile. An understanding of aerodynamics, the jet
propulsion theory, the gas laws, and the various
basic missile propulsion systems will help you to
realize why missile launching systems and missile
magazine spaces are designed as they are. Much of
the information covered will also relate directly to
the operational aspects of missile launching
systems.

The next chapter of this manual will take up
missile guidance - that is, it will discuss the basic
components of guided missiles which enable them
to alter their trajectories and collide with moving
targets. We'll also have more to say about Talos,
Tartar, Terrier, and Standard missiles.

63

CHAPTER 4

MISSILE GUIDANCE AND CONTROL

INTRODUCTION

In the preceding chapters you learned that the
essential parts a guided missile needs to perform
properly are:
1. Airframe and control surfaces.
2. Propulsion system.
3. Warhead system.
4. Guidance and control system.
In addition, in chapter 2 you studied the basic fire
control problem, and learned how some of the
forces of nature affect the trajectory of a guided
missile as it flies to its intended target. In chapter 3
you learned how wings and fins steer a missile and
keep it pointed along its flight path. The use of
interior control devices by missiles without exterior
control surfaces (or limited ones) was described
briefly. The different types of guidance systems
used in missiles are inertial, command, beam-rider,
and homing guidance.
In this chapter we will show you the basic
functional components of a guidance system. Some
of them are within the missile, and some are on the
launching ship. Then we will discuss briefly some
of the parts in the missile's guidance and control
equipment and how they work. Finally, we will
cover the way specific missiles (the ones you will
work with) are divided into sections or
compartments.

GUIDANCE AND CONTROL

Before we go on to discuss any particular type of
guidance system, it is necessary to consider first
the overall operation of an entire missile guidance
and control system; to divide it into convenient
groups of units; and to indicate the general function
of each major group so that the operation of the
particular units may be understood in relation to
the operation of the guidance and control system as
a whole. Also,
in the interest of terminology standardization and
to assist common understanding, we shall call the
complete system within a missile that steers and
stabilizes it a guidance and control system.
Depending on your experience with missiles, you
may take exception to this designation. And if you
do, there is good reason for it. The reason is shown
in figure 4-1. For example, if you have worked on
the Tartar or Terrier missiles you will consider the
system that guides and controls a missile to be its
steering system. On the other hand, a Talos GMM
would call it a guidance and control system. We
will stick with the latter designation - not because
we favor Talos but because most manuals, and
many Navy publications, use this term.

SUBSYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS

In figure 4-2 we show that the complete system
for steering and stabilizing a surface- to-air missile
may be considered as consisting of two major
divisions or systems: (1) the guidance system and
(2) the control system, which functions similarly to
an automatic pilot in an aircraft. For convenience,
we will include the control surfaces (wings and
fins) and interior control devices as part of the
control system.

In many ways a guidance and control system is
simply a flying servomechanism. At first thought
this idea may not be clear to you. So to make it
clearer, let's review the definition of a
servomechanism and see if the definition fits a
missile guidance and control system. You learned
in Basic Electricity. NavPers 10086-B, that, and we
quote the text - "A servomechanism is an
electromechanical device that positions an object in
accordance with a variable signal. The signal
source may be capable of supplying only a small
amount of power. A servomechanism operates to
reduce the difference (error) between two
quantities."

64
CHAPTER 4 - MISSILE GUIDANCE AND CONTROL

65

A guidance and control system meets the
requirements of a servomechanism as it is implied
in the above definition. The guidance portion of the
system develops the variable input signal. The
input signal represents the desired course to the
target. The missile control system operates to bring
the missile onto the desired course. Therefore, you
can say that the output of the guidance and control
system is the actual missile flight path. If there is a
difference between the desired flight path (input)
and the one the missile is actually on (output), then
the control system operates to change the position
of the missile in space to reduce the error. When
the missile has been steered to the desired course,
the guidance system will detect no error and the
control system will not move the control surfaces
in response to a guidance error, because there isn't
any.

The units of the guidance system may be carried
in the missile (as in active and passive homing), or
they may be distributed between
the missile and the launching ship (as in beam-rider
and semi active homing missiles). The principal
functions of the guidance system are to detect the
presence of the target and track it; to determine the
desired course to the target; and to produce
electrical steering signals which indicate the
position of the missile with respect to the required
course.
The units that respond to the guidance signals
and actuate the control surfaces make up the major
division referred to in figure 4-2 as the CONTROL
SYSTEM. For convenience we will include gyros
in this system. The units in the control system may
be considered as consisting of two groups: the
COMPUTER, and the CONTROL-SURFACE
SERVOSYSTEM.
Specific computer units vary widely in design
because of basic differences in the type of guidance
used. But in most cases this section contains
damping instruments (accelerometers and rate
gyros), summing networks (electrical circuits that
add and subtract voltages), and servoamplifiers as
principal components. In general,

66

these units originate information about missile
motion and flight attitude, add this data to
incoming guidance signals, and produce output
voltages suitable for operating the control-surface
servo.
A typical control-surface servosection is made
up of hydraulic units. This section serves as a
power stage of the control system; it releases large
amounts of energy under accurate control. The
principal parts of this section are electrically
operated servovalves and the wing or tail hydraulic
actuator units which make the adjustments to guide
and stabilize the missile. In the newest missiles,
hydraulic actuators are replaced by electric
systems. This saves considerable weight and space
in the missile.

TYPES OF FEEDBACK LOOPS

As indicated by the feedback loops shown in
figure 4-2, the basic operation of the guidance and
control system is based on the closed-loop or servo
principle. The control units make corrective
adjustments of the missile control surfaces when a
guidance error is present, in other words, when the
missile is not on the correct course to the target.
The control units will also adjust the control
surfaces to stabilize the missile in roll, pitch, and
yaw. You must keep in mind that guidance and
stabilization are two separate processes, even
though they occur simultaneously. To make this
idea clearer, think of yourself throwing a dart with
its tails removed. It is possible for you to hit the
bulls-eye of a target because your arm and brain
guide the dart onto the proper trajectory to score a
hit. But without its tail surfaces to stabilize it, it is
very possible that the dart will land on the target in
some position (attitude) other than point first. Well,
missiles are like darts or arrows in this respect, and
must be stabilized about the three (roll, pitch, and
yaw) axes we talked about in chapter 3, so that the
missile will fly nose first and will not oscillate
about its direction of flight. So in summary we can
say that, if there is an error in missile heading due
to guidance or stabilization, the corrective actions
taken by the control system are such that any error
present in the system is reduced to zero. This is
true servo action, as you have learned in previous
Navy courses on basic electricity and electronics.
Now that you have a general picture of the
overall operation of a missile guidance and control
system, let's turn our attention to the feedback
loops in our flying servo.
Guidance Feedback Loop

Consider first the guidance feedback loop, which
is indicated by the broken line between the desired
course line and missile flight path (fig. 4-2). The
loop is not a physical circuit, but rather a method of
operation that is built into the system. By means of
this operation, the position of the airframe, as well
as the guidance signals, determines the amplitudes
and polarities of the guidance signals that actuate
the control units.

For example, in the beam-rider system, steering
(guidance) error voltages are produced in the radar
receiver in the guidance section by comparing the
position of the missile with the center of the
guidance beam (fig. 2-17) or to be more exact, with
the nutation axis (fig. 4-3) of the beam. If the
missile is not flying along the nutation axis, then
the guidance system produces error voltages and
sends them to the control section. The control
section makes corrective adjustments of the control
surfaces in response to the error signals. As the
missile approaches the nutation axis of the radar
beam (which defines the course to the target), the
error voltages get smaller, and become zero when
the missile flies along the nutation axis.

Before proceeding further, let's stop to define
"nutation axis," mentioned above. Nutation is
difficult to describe in words but easy to
demonstrate. Hold a pencil in both hands; while
holding the eraser end as still as possible, swing the
point through a circle. This motion

67

of the pencil is nutation. The pencil point
corresponds to the open or transmitting end of the
radar waveguide antenna. The radar beam moves in
a similar manner when scanning, moving in a
conical pattern without changing the vertical or
horizontal orientation. Figure 4-3 illustrates a
conical scanning pattern and the axis of scan.
When a conically scanned radar beam is used for
missile guidance, the desired path of the missile is
not along the axis of the beam but along the axis of
scan.

In the operation of most homing missiles, error
signals are produced by measuring the position of
the target with respect to the line of sight of a gyro
stabilized radar antenna called the seeker head. It is
located in the nose of the missile and points at the
target. A line drawn through the fore-and-aft axis
of the antenna to the target describes the desired
course for the missile. Any deviations of the
missile that throw the antenna off course result in
guidance signals which are sent to the control
system. The control system reacts by correcting the
missile heading, and the error signals progressively
decrease and approach zero as the missile comes
on course. Thus, in either beam riding or homing
systems, feedback action is a fundamental process
of guidance, and consists of altering the position of
the airframe. Thus the missile acts like a position
servo as it responds to guidance signals. 14W

Stabilization Feedback Loop

The stabilization feedback loop shown in figure
4-2 indicates in a general way the basic method
used in most missile control systems for stabilizing
the missile. The stabilization loop is completed by
the inputs and outputs of DAMPING devices,
which in most systems are rate gyros and
accelerometers. The input to each of these
instruments is some motion of the missile. The rate
gyros measure angular velocity about a missile axis
and the accelerometers measure the linear
acceleration along an axis. Thus the control system
receives stabilization signals that are proportional
to the particular component of motion to which a
damping instrument is sensitive.

The damping voltages are applied to the input of
the summing circuits in the computer Another
input to the summing network is the guidance
signals. The two sets of signals art added in the
summing network and product
control signals which ultimately keep the missile
on course and in the proper flight attitude. The
general effects of damping are:
1. To oppose any tendency of the missile to
move from the desired course or heading once it is
established.
2. To prevent or minimize overshooting and
oscillation when the missile is maneuvering in
response to guidance command signals.
The stabilization loop in a missile does the same
thing for it as the stabilization loop in the launcher
power drive does for a launcher. In both
applications the stabilizing loop prevents
overshooting and hunting about the desired
position.
In chapter 7 of this book we will cover the
fundamental principles of servo operation in detail.
What you learn there about controlling the position
and movements of launching system equipment
can be applied directly to automatic control of
missiles. We suggest that after you read chapter 7,
you return to this chapter and reread it. Then you
will see for yourself that there are many parallels
between the two applied fields of servomechanism
theory. For example, launcher power drive servos
use tachometer generators to measure the angular
velocity of a launcher. The output of the generator
is a voltage proportional to the angular velocity
(rate) of the launcher. This voltage is sent to a
servoamplifier to aid in stabilizing the launcher.
Missiles use a similar technique. But in a missile, a
rate gyro is used instead of a tachometer generator.
The gyro measures the missile's angular velocity
about a particular axis (yaw, pitch, or roll). The
output of the gyro is a voltage that is proportional
to missile angular velocity (rate) about an axis.
This rate voltage is sent to a servoamplifier to help
stabilize the missile motion about the selected axis.
You will a find other parallels after you study
chapters 7 and 8, and read a missile OP.

COMPONENTS AND INSTRUMENTS

In the last few pages several components of
guidance and control systems have been mentioned
without explanation of what the) are, or how they
operate. The following pages will contain these
explanations.
Earlier, we talked about the overall operation of
the guidance and control system of a missile. For
convenience and standardization, we divided the
system into two parts: the guidance system and the
control system. We indicated the general function
of each major system so that its operation

68

could be understood in relation to the operation of
the overall system as a whole. With this
background, we are ready to take up some of the
particular instruments and electronic components
in guidance and control systems.

Gyroscopes

One of the most important instruments in a
missile control system is the gyroscope, or gyro for
short. Any spinning object - a top, a wheel, a
planet, or a spinning projectile - is fundamentally a
gyro. But strictly speaking, a gyro may be defined
as a mechanical device

containing a spinning mass mounted in such a
manner as to have either one or two degrees
(directions) or freedom.
A gyro that has two degrees of freedom is
sometimes called a universally mounted gyro or a
free gyro. In a free gyro the rotor is mounted in
gimbals so that it can assume any position. Notice
in figure 4-4A which shows a drawing of a free
gyro, that the rotor can turn about axes Y or Z, or
you can say the rotor has two degrees of freedom.
Figure 4-4B shows a rate gyro, also called a single
degree of freedom gyro. Its rotor can move about
only one axis. Incidentally, when you are counting
degrees of freedom of a gyro rotor you never count
the freedom of a rotor to move about its axis.
The two characteristics of gyros that are most
useful in missile control systems are:
1. The gyro rotor tends to remain fixed in space,
if no force is applied to it. For example, if you
started the rotor of a free gyro spinning, and
pointed the gyro rotor spin axis at a star, the spin
axis would remain pointed in that direction unless
some force moved it off.
2. The spin axis has a tendency to turn at a right
angle to the direction of an applied force.
The idea of maintaining a fixed plane in space is
easy to show. When any object is spinning rapidly,
it tends to keep its axis pointed in the same
direction. A toy top is a good example. As long as
it is spinning fast, it stays balanced on its point. It
resists the tendency of gravity to change the
direction of its spin axis.
The resistance of the gyro against any force
which tends to displace the rotor from its plane of
rotation is called rigidity in space.

Precession

As previously mentioned, the second property of
the gyro is that its spin axis has a tendency to turn
at a right angle to the direction of a force applied to
it. Take a look at figure 4-5. When a downward
force is applied at point A, the force is transferred
through pivot B. This force causes downward
movement at C. This movement at a right angle to
the direction of the applied force is called
precession. The force associated with this
movement (also at right angles to the direction of
the applied force) is called the force of precession.
Other spinning objects, such as a spinning
projectile, show the same tendency to deviate from
the direction of the force applied.

69

The earth precesses as it spins on its axis. A
spinning bicycle wheel acts as a gyroscope and so
do airplane propellers. You can probably think of
other examples.

DIRECTION OF GYROSCOPIC
PRECESSION. - Let us now see how we can
determine the direction of precession caused by the
application of a force tending to turn the rotor out
of its plane of rotation. In figure 4-6, a weight is
attached to the spin axis. This is in effect the same
as applying a force at point X. The resulting torque
tends to turn the rotor around axis CD. But due to
the property of precession, the applied force will be
transferred 90 in the direction of rotor spin,
causing the rotor to precess around axis AB.

Free Gyros In Guided Missiles

To illustrate how free gyros are used in detecting
missile attitude, let us first refer to figure 4-7.
Suppose that the design attitude of the missile is
horizontal as shown in the figure The gyro within
the missile has its spin axis in the vertical plane,
and is mounted in gimbals in such a manner that a
deviation in the horizontal attitude of the missile
would not physically affect the gyro. In other
words, the missile body can roll around the gyro
and the gyro will still maintain its same position in
space. Figure 4-8 shows this occurrence. Note that
the missile has rolled approximately 30, but the
gyro has remained stable in space. If we could
measure

the angle between the rotor and a point on the
missile body we would know exactly how far the
missile deviated from the horizontal attitude
Having determined this, the control surface could
then be positioned to return the missile to the
horizontal.

Actually, a minimum of two free gyros s
required to keep track of pitch, roll, and yaw. The
vertical gyro just described can also be used to
detect missile pitch as shown in figure 4-9. To
detect yaw, a second gyro is used with its spin axis
in the horizontal plane and its rotor in the vertical
plane. Yaw will then be detected as shown in
figure 4-10.

70

Rate Gyros

The free gyros just described provide a means of
measuring the amount of roll, pitch, and yaw. The
free gyros therefore can be used to develop signals,
which are proportional to the amount of roll, pitch,
and yaw. Due to the momentum of a missile in
responding to free gyro signals,
large overcorrections would result unless there
were some means of determining how fast the
angular movement is occurring. For example,
suppose that a correction signal is generated which
is proportional to an error of 10 to the left of the
proper heading. The control surfaces are
automatically positioned to bring the missile to the
right. The missile responds by coming right. But
because of its momentum it will pass the correct
heading and introduce an error to the right. To
provide correction signals that take momentum of
the missile into account, rate gyros are used. These
gyros continuously determine angular accelerations
about the missile axes. By combining free gyro
signals with rate signals from the rate gyros, the
tendency to overcorrect is minimized and a better
degree of stability is obtained. The rate gyro
actually provides a refinement or damping effect to
the correcting process. Without rate gyros, a
missile would over-correct constantly.
The basic difference between the free gyro and
the rate gyro is in the way they are mounted. Figure
4-4 shows a simplified view of a roll rate gyro.
Notice that the rotor is mounted in single gimbals
rather than the two sets of gimbals which supported
the free gyro. This

71

arrangement restricts the freedom of the gyro rotor.
When the missile rolls, the gyro mounting turns
about the roll axis (arrow A) carrying the gyro
rotor with it. This causes a force of precession at a
right angle to the roll axis, which causes the rotor
to turn about the pitch axis (arrow B).

Restraining springs may be attached to the
gimbals as shown. The force on the springs would
then be proportional to angular acceleration about
the roll axis.

Three rate gyros are normally installed in a
missile to measure the accelerations about the three
mutually perpendicular missile axes (fig. 3-3A).
Accelerometers

An accelerometer is an inertia device. A simple
illustration of the principles involved in
accelerometer operation is the action of the human
body in an automobile. You know that if an
automobile is subjected to acceleration in a forward
direction you are forced back in the seat. If the auto
comes to a sudden stop, you are thrown forward.
When the auto goes into a turn you tend to be
forced away from the direction of the turn-that is, if
the auto turns left, you are forced to the right, and
vice versa.
In figure 4-11 we replace the human in an auto
with a mass suspended in an elastic mounting
system. Any accelerations of the auto will cause
movements of the mass relative to the car.

72

The amount of displacement will be proportional to
the force causing the acceleration. The direction in
which the mass moves in relation to the auto will
be opposite to the direction of the acceleration.

The movement of the mass is in accordance with
Newton's second law of motion which states that
when a body is acted on by a force, its resulting
acceleration is proportional to the force and
inversely proportional to the mass of the body. In
mathematical terms this may be expressed as a =
F/M, or by transposition F = Ma, where F equals
force, M equals mass, and a equals acceleration.

When the auto in figure 4-11 is standing still, the
mass will be at its rest point. When the car starts
off in the forward direction the mass will lag in
proportion to the acceleration force. It will also
tend to oscillate about its rest point due to the
spring tension. If permitted to oscillate, the
movement of the mass would not represent the true
accelerations of the auto. To eliminate the
unwanted oscillations, a damper is included in the
accelerometer unit. The damping effect should be
just great enough to prevent any oscillations from
occurring but still permit a significant displacement
of the mass. When this condition exists, the
movement of the mass will be exactly proportional
to the accelerations of the auto.
Figure 4-12 shows a mass suspended by one
spring in a liquid-damping system. If the case
experiences an acceleration in the direction
indicated by the arrow, the spring will offer a
restraining force proportional to the downward
displacement of the mass. The viscous fluid tends
to oppose the movement of the mass, and therefore
damps its action and prevents its oscillation. By
including an electrical pickoff
in the system, we can measure the displacement of
the mass which is proportional to force and
acceleration.

SENSORS AND PICKOFFS

Most guided missiles contain a variety of
sensors. A sensor is a device which can detect
energy. There are many sensors found in nature.
The ear is a sensor which detects sound energy.
The eye detects the presence of light energy.

73

In addition to the sensors found in nature, man has
been able to devise a large number of energy
detectors which have industrial and military
applications.

Types of Sensors in Missiles

A simple example of a man-made sensor is the
photoelectric cell in a light meter. The
photoelectric cell can detect the presence of light in
much the same manner as the eye. Various types of
photoelectric cells are used for different purposes.
Figure 4-13 shows a vacuum-type photoelectric
cell. When no light enters the tube, no electrons are
released and none move from cathode to anode.
When light enters the cell, electrons are released
and can move to the anode and cause current to
flow in the circuit. The small current from the
photocell can be amplified so it can operate a relay
and open or close a switch. This is popularly called
an electric eye and has countless uses in industry.
An electrical pickoff attached to the photocell can
detect the direction of the light source. Many
different types of light cells are made for different
purposes, but all are dependent on light and
therefore are ineffective when the light is obscured
or absent.
Another simple example of a sensor is the
aneroid barometer which detects atmospheric
pressure. Devices which can sense radiated heat
energy (all objects on earth radiate some heat
energy in the form of electromagnetic waves) are
infrared (heat) sensors. Radio receivers, although
not commonly thought of as sensors, actually
perform the same basic function as a sensor that is,
they detect energy. Radar sensors have been
developed since World War II.
Energy detection in itself is of no practical value.
For a control system - whether it be associated with
the human body or a guided missile - to respond to
detected energy, there must be some type of
mechanism associated with the sensor which will
convert its intelligence into usable form. In the case
of the vibrating eardrum, a nerve must be
connected between it and the brain if the brain is to
respond to noise. In response to the mechanical
vibrations of the eardrum, the nerve produces
signals which are transmitted to the brain. Without
the nerve, the eardrum could vibrate continuously,
yet no indication of sound would reach the brain.
The same is true of the photoelectric cell (or the
eye) which generates an electric current
proportional to the intensity of light. Unless the
electric current produces a meaningful effect, the
cell has no useful application.

In most light meters the current is accepted by an
electrical circuit and then converted to mechanical
motion of an indicating needle. In the aneroid
barometer, mechanical motion may be transmitted
through a mechanical linkage to an indicator, or an
electrical device may be associated with the
bellows to cause indicator movement.
The devices which receive energy from sensors
and transmit this energy-either in the same form or
another form - to a point where it is put into
practical use are generally referred to as pickoffs.
In the case of the ear, the nerve was the pickoff. An
electrical circuit acted as the pickoff in the light
meter. An electrical circuit or mechanical linkage
served as the pickoff in the barometer.

Pickoffs Used In Missiles

Most of the pickoffs used in guided missiles are
electrical devices. In addition to transmitting
energy from sensors, they are also used to measure
outputs of physical references such as gyros. In this
second respect, the pickoffs themselves act as
sensors. (The gyro rotor in itself cannot determine
missile attitude information. For this reason the
gyro has been classed as a physical reference rather
than a sensor.) Pickoffs must be used in
conjunction with free and rate gyros to determine
missile attitude and motion information.
Electrical pickoffs are extremely sensitive and
reflect little torque back to the sensor or reference
unit. It is primarily these qualities

74

which make them useful in guided missiles. The
most common types of electrical pickoffs are:
1. Potentiometer pickoffs
2. Synchro pickoffs
Potentiometers and synchros are covered in
chapter 7 of this course. Also, the fundamental
types of synchro units and their basic principles of
operation are discussed in Basic Electricity,
NavPers 10086-B so we won't cover these units
here.

MISSILE GUIDANCE PHASES

Missile guidance is generally divided into three
phases - boost, midcourse, and terminal. Figure 4-
14 illustrates these three phases of guidance for
Tartar, Terrier, and Talos (the three T's) missiles.
As you learned in the preceding chapter, Navy
surface-to-air missiles are boosted to flight speed.
This boosted period lasts from the time a missile
leaves the launcher until the booster burns up its
fuel. In the case of missiles with separate boosters,
the booster drops away from the missile at burnout.
Boost is a very important phase of a missile's
flight. The missile must get off to a good start or it
will not hit its target. Before launch the missile is
aimed in a specific direction on orders from afire
control computer. Movement of the launcher in
response to the computer orders establishes a line
of flight (called a trajectory or a flight path) along
which the missile must fly during the boosted
portion of its flight. The flight path extends from
the launcher to a point in space. And at the end of
its boost period the missile should be at this point.
There are several reasons why this is important.
First, if the missile is a homing missile, it must
"look" in a predetermined direction for the target.
The fire control computer calculates this predicted
target position, based on where the missile should
be at the end of boost phase. Before launch, this
information is fed into the missile.
Finally, when a beam-riding missile reaches the
end of its boosted period, it must be in a position
where it can be captured by a radar guidance beam.
Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that all
missiles fly along the prescribed launching
trajectory as accurately as possible. If they don't,
then a homing missile will not see its target, nor
will a beam rider be captured by its guidance beam
(fig. 2-17). To assure that missiles will fly along
the launching trajectory, special guidance systems
are added to them, as in the Tartar and Talos. Or,
like Terrier, each missile
is made with such built-in stability that it can fly as
straight as an arrow. But regardless of which
technique is used, the boost phase guidance system
keeps the missile heading exactly as it was at
launch.
The MIDCOURSE phase begins where the boost
phase ends, and ends where the terminal or last
phase begins. It is during the midcourse phase that
most of the major corrections to the missile's flight
path are made.
The TERMINAL phase occurs as the missile
approaches the target. This phase requires very
high accuracy from the guidance system since the
missile may have to make sharp turns and undergo
high accelerations, especially against fast-moving
and maneuvering targets.
In some missiles a single guidance system may
be used for all three guidance phases. Other
missiles may have a different guidance system for
each phase, and this is usually the case with Navy
surface-to-air missile systems.

TYPES OF GUIDANCE SYSTEMS

So far, we have looked at missile guidance and
control from the missile's viewpoint. Now let's
consider the overall guidance and control picture in
terms of shipboard and missile guidance systems.
Guidance systems for missiles launched from ships
can be divided into four groups: (1) self-contained,
(2) command, (3) beam-rider, and (4) homing. No
one system is best suited for all phases of guidance.
It is logical then to combine a system that is
excellent for midcourse guidance with one that is
excellent for terminal guidance. Combined systems
are known as composite guidance systems or
combination systems. A particular combination of
command guidance and semiactive homing
guidance is called hybrid guidance. When a missile
changes from one type of guidance to another
while in flight, it must also contain some type of
switching device to make the change. This device
is called a control matrix, a highly sophisticated
equipment found in modern missiles.

Self-Contained Guidance Systems

The self-contained group consists of the
guidance systems in which all the guidance and
control equipment is inside the missile. Some of
the systems of this type are: PRESET,
TERRESTRIAL, INERTIAL, and CELESTIAL-
NAVIGATION. These systems are most
commonly

75

76

applicable to surface-to-surface missiles, and
countermeasures are ineffective against them. Such
systems neither transmit nor receive signals that
can be jammed.

PRESET GUIDANCE. - The term "preset"
completely describes this guidance method. All the
control equipment is inside the missile, and all the
information relative to the target location and the
trajectory the missile must follow are calculated
and set into the missile before it is launched. One
disadvantage is that the trajectory cannot be
changed once the missile is launched. For this
reason it is used against stationary targets and large
land masses; it cannot be used against a moving
target. It is a relatively simple type of guidance
system. The German V-2 is an early example of a
guided missile with preset guidance. A completely
preset system probably will not be used in missiles
of the future, but some features of the preset
system will be combined with other systems.

INERTIAL GUIDANCE. - The inertial guidance
method is used for the same purpose as the preset
method and is actually a refinement of the preset
method. The inertially guided missile also receives
programmed information prior to launch, Although
there is no electromagnetic contact between the
launching site and the missile after launch, the
missile is able to make corrections to its flight path
with amazing precision. The method of controlling
the flight path is based on the use of accelerometers
which are mounted on a gyro-stabilized platform.
An accelerometer is an inertia device. (Inertial
guidance gets its name from this property of
matter.) A simple illustration of the principle
involved in accelerometer operation is the human
body in an automobile. If the automobile is
subjected to sudden acceleration, the body is forced
back into the seat, and it does the same thing for
the missile. All in-flight accelerations are
continuously measured by this arrangement; and
the missile generates corresponding correction
signals to maintain the proper trajectory. The use of
inertial guidance takes much of the guess work out
of long-range missile delivery. The unpredictable
outside forces working on the missile are
continuously sensed by the accelerometers. The
generated solution enables the missile to
continuously correct its flight path. The inertial
guidance method has proved far more reliable than
other long-range guidance method developed to
date.
CELESTIAL-INERTIAL SYSTEM. - Navigation
by the stars has been used for many centuries. The
navigator measures the angular elevation of two or
more known stars or planets, using a sextant. From
these measurements, the ship's position can be
plotted. The adaptation for missiles uses an inertial
system that is supervised by an series of fixes on
celestial bodies (fig. 4-15). Since a missile does not
carry a human navigator, checking of the position
must be done by a mechanical substitute. One of
the systems is known as Stellar Supervised Inertial
Autonavigator; another is called Automatic
Celestial Navigation.

TERRESTRIAL GUIDANCE METHOD.-
Several picture and mapmatching guidance systems
have been suggested and tried. Terrestrial reference
navigation relies on comparisons of photos or maps
carried in the missile with an image of the terrain
over which the missile is flying at that time. The
basic idea can be shown by using the common
photograph as an example. If a photographic
negative is placed over its coinciding, positive, the
entire area will be black. If the positive were a
transparency, the entire area would be opaque and
no light would get through. If either the negative or
positive is moved slightly with respect to the other,
light will show through where the prints are not
matched. This is the theory on which a radar-
mapmatching system works. Instead of a
transparency for the positive image, the projected
image of the terrain from a lens or a radarscope is
used. Such a system is usable only against large
land targets. Since landscape features can change
over a period of time (buildings can be demolished
or whole new complexes of buildings can be
erected and roads changed), the "negative" to be
used for comparison by the missile radar must be a
recent one.

Development of Surface-to-Air
Guidance Systems

Once an inertially guided missile is launched, it
loses contact with any manmade devices located on
the earth. The principal link, however, between an
inertially guided missile and earth is the force of
gravity. But Navy surface- to-air missiles, while in
flight, normally have some manmade link between
them and their launching platform (ship). The link
is always in the form of electromagnetic energy
from a shipboard radar. Depending on the type of
guidance system used, the link is either a direct one

77

between the radar and missile, or it takes a
roundabout path from its source to the missile. But
regardless of the guidance method used, the missile
and ship, under normal operating conditions, are
linked by radar waves. However, under unusual
circumstances such as a jamming target, the radar
string between ship and missile is broken, and the
missile is then linked by electromagnetic energy
with the target.
When you consider the size of the earth, the
distance covered by a Navy surface-to-air missile is
very short. Range of the Tartar missile is in excess
of 10 miles, and Talos a range in excess of 65
miles. Therefore, the targets that these missiles are
used against must be kept under constant
observation. Also, SAM (RIM) targets are usually
moving. So, some means must be used to bring the
missiles on target rapidly. Radar meets these two
basic requirements perfectly. It can "see" in the
dark and in bad weather, and it sends out beams of
electromagnetic energy which can provide a
control link between a missile and its launching
platform (ship). Then, if guidance information is
sent over this link, the missile can be directed onto
the proper course to the target. When this guidance
technique is used the missile is, in a sense, a puppet
on the end of a string - an electromagnetic string.
The radar tells the missile where to go and
remotely controls its flight. The missile acts on this
guidance information
through control equipment inside the missile. The
control equipment actuates the missile's wings or
tails to bring the missile heading to the course
prescribed by the radar. In this view of a guidance
system, again notice that some of the overall
guidance equipment is in the missile and some is
on the ship.
The history of missile guidance systems is short.
All of the significant developments are recent,
principally because the state of electronics before
the nineteen forties was relatively primitive. One of
the first guided missiles was the German X-4. It
was an air-to-air missile designed for launching
from fighter aircraft as shown in figure 4-16. It was
propelled by a liquid-fuel rocket, and roll-stabilized
by four fins placed symmetrically. The X-4 was
guided by electrical control signals sent from the
launching aircraft, through a. pair of fine wires that
unrolled from two coils mounted on the tips of the
missile fins. The pilot observed the target, and
measured its position relative to the missile. He
compared their relative positions and computed the
guidance commands necessary to bring the missile
onto the right flight path. Then he sent these
steering commands over the two wires to the
missile control system which moved the control
surfaces. This was a crude guidance system, but the
point is that it contained all of the essential
functional parts of present

78

day guidance systems - (l) units to detect the
presence of targets, (2) to track them, (3) compute
guidance commands, (4) direct, and (5) control
missile motions. Also note especially that the link
with the launching platform (plane in this case)
was a pair of wires. The wire link is analogous to
the radar link of today's SAM (RIM) guidance
systems.
One obvious disadvantage of a wire guidance
link is that it shortens the range of a missile. So the
next step in the development of guidance systems
was to replace the wire link with one that could be
stretched.
However, wire guidance is not obsolete. The
Navy has a wire-guided torpedo (Astor), and
several of the newest anti-tank missiles use wire
guidance. Among these are Entac, SS-10, SS-11,
TOW, and MAW. Since anti-tank missiles are
necessarily short-range, wire guidance is well-
suited to them.

Command Guidance

The wire-link guidance system is obviously a
command system, with the missile receiving
commands from the ship's radar via the wires
unreeled as it flies. Other command systems are by
radio and radar without wire connections. A
possible reason for the name of this guidance
system category is that the shipboard portion of the
overall guidance system sends directly to the
missile specific commands such as turn right, go
up, turn left, reverse throttle, and detonate warhead.

Remote Control by Radio

A guidance system based on remote control of
the missile by radio was a natural step in the
development of missile guidance systems.
Using this technique, the control link could be
stretched many miles, and any physical contact
between launching platform and the missile
eliminated.

A simple radio remote control system is shown
in figure 4-17. In this system the operator visually
observes the drone (tracking) and mentally decides
the changes necessary in course, speed, and altitude
(computing). Guidance commands such as up -
down, right - left, and slow down - speed up are
then sent to the drone by

79

radio (directing) where a receiver in the missile
picks them up. The guidance commands are then
sent to the missile's flight control system to execute
the desired maneuver (steering). This method was
used in World War II to direct obsolete, wornout
airplanes (nicknamed "Weary Willies"), loaded
with explosives, to enemy targets, such as factories
and bridges; then explode them. In this radio
guidance system the guidance commands originate
from a source outside the missile. Later on we will
show how more sophisticated missiles develop
their own guidance signals. But first, let's talk
about a further step in the development of missile
guidance systems.

Missile Remote Control by Radar

The basic missile guidance system shown in
figure 4-18 contains two radars and a computer.
These three units replace the human operator we
needed in the radio remote control system we
talked about a moment ago. One radar tracks the
target, the other tracks the missile. Both radars are
located at the launching platform.
And so is the computer which takes the two sets of
tracking data and issues commands so that the
missile will either collide with the target or pass
within lethal range of it. The command signals are
sent to the missile by the missile tracking radar
beam. Notice that here, as in the radio remote
control system, guidance signals are developed in a
source outside the missile. The two systems we
have just talked about come under the broad
category of command guidance.
But in the systems that we will study next, only
information is sent over the radar beams- not
guidance signals. It is the missile's guidance system
that acts on the information and develops guidance
signals to direct the missile to the desired flight
path.

BEAM-RIDER METHODS

In the beam-rider guidance system, shown in
figure 4-19 a device in the missile keeps it centered
in the beam. (The basic principles of radar and the
general characteristics of a radar beam are
discussed in Basic Electronics, NavPers 10087-B.)

80

The basic beam-rider system resembles the
method for controlling rockets first proposed in
1925. At that time, it was suggested that a rocket
could be made to follow a searchlight beam using a
simple control system containing four light
sensitive, selenium cells. The cells were to be
attached to the tail assembly of the rocket in a
cross-shaped arrangement. After launching, the
rays of the guiding searchlight would fall equally
on the four cells as long as the rocket stayed in the
center of the beam.
If the rocket strayed from the desired track, the
four cells would then pick up different amounts of
light. Since the electrical resistance of a cell is
proportional to the amount of light that falls on its
sensitive surface, the unequal responses of the four
units could be converted into corresponding
electrical signals. The signals were to be amplified,
and then sent to a control system which would turn
the rudders to bring the rocket back to the center of
the beam.
Missile engineers never developed this system in
the form proposed. But it is nevertheless interesting
and noteworthy since the modern beam-rider
missile works on the same general
principle. Of course, there are many refinements in
the present systems. For example, instead of a light
beam, the beam of a fire control radar is used for
guidance.
In place of selenium cells, the missile has a radar
antenna-receiver system which senses the missile
direction and distance from the center of the
guidance beam. The missile control system then
corrects the missile's flight to place the missile in
the center of the guidance beam.
So far in this book, we have assumed that there
is one beam, the guidance beam. There are actually
two- a capture beam and a guidance beam. (See fig.
4-19.) The capture beam is a wide-angle low power
beam used during the early part of missile flight to
capture the missile. The guidance beam is a very
narrow, high power beam used for guidance over
the major part of the missile's flight. A wide
capture beam is needed because missiles with
external boosters have dispersion.
When the booster is ignited, the missile- booster
combination is launched in such a direction that it
will intersect the capture beam,

81

as we explained in chapter 2. The booster burns out
after about 4 seconds of flight, and aerodynamic
drag causes it to separate from the missile.
When the booster separates, the missile should
be in the capture beam. The capture and guidance
beam contain the same kind of guidance
information, and both nutate about the radar line of
sight to the target. The guidance beams are kept on
the target by the tracking radar and its associated
director controls. Depending on the missile, the
missile is roll stabilized somewhere between the
time it is launched and after it enters the capture
beam. The missile must be roll stabilized so that it
can properly determine which way it must deflect
the control surface in response to the guidance
information in the beams. Proper operation of the
missile guidance and control system depends on
correct missile roll attitude relative to the guidance
beams. In figure 4-20 you can see that the guidance
beams contain a reference system. It is enough to
say here that the beam reference is established by
frequency-modulating the pulse repetition rate of
the shipboard radar. What is important to you as a
GMM is the roll gyro in the missile. Radar
guidance information may
be properly received and processed regardless of
roll attitude, but when the missile makes
corrections to its flight path, the control surfaces
must be properly positioned in respect to the radar
beam reference to turn the missile in the proper
direction.
After the missile is captured (by the capture
beam), it rides the capture beam for a few seconds.
During this time it gets closer to the scan axis of
the radar beam. Then, capture-guidance change-
over takes place. This means that the radar receiver
in the missile switches from the capture beam to
the guidance beam, and starts receiving guidance
information from it. As we said a moment ago, at
capture-guidance change-over the missile should
be close to the axes of the two radar beams, and the
change to the guidance beam should be fairly
smooth. Since the missile follows the guidance
radar axis, which in turn follows the target, the
missile approaches the target on an arc until
intercept is attained as illustrated in figure 4-21.
The missile may have to make a sharp turn to
follow the radar beam to the target. This is a
disadvantage of the beam-rider method, for the
angle of turn may be too great for the missile to
make safely.

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Homing Systems

The types of homing systems are active, passive,
and semiactive. They may also be named according
to the type of signal followed, such as infrared
homing, acoustic homing, or optical homing. Still
another method of naming may be according to the
flight path or trajectory followed, as pursuit
homing, lead homing, or zero-bearing.

Active Homing

In active homing (fig. 4-22) the missile contains
both a radar transmitter and receiver. The
transmitter sends out radar signals. They strike the
target and are reflected. The returned echoes are
picked up by the missile's antenna and passed into
the receiver. Here the information locating the
target with respect to the missile is extracted. The
output of the receiver is guidance information; it is
sent to the computer, where steering corrections are
computed. The output of the computer is sent to the
control

section, which in turn corrects the missile flight
path to cause collision of the missile and target.

Passive Homing

Passive homing guidance equipment in a missile
consists basically of an antenna and a receiver. The
receiver-antenna combination detects the presence
of a target and tracks it by sensing some type of
radiation that the target emits. A passive homing
system, like an active system, is completely
independent of the launching ship. Unlike the
active method, however, the operation of the
passive homing system cannot be detected by the
enemy since there is no electromagnetic radiation
from the missile. A passive homing system is
illustrated in figure 4-23.
Some surface-to-air missiles use passive homing
when their normal guidance system is jammed.
Then the target is the source of electromagnetic
energy used by the passive homing system to
develop guidance signals. The energy source
within the target may be an electronic jammer. The
jammer is used to mix up the guidance information
in the radar beams that are transmitted from the
launching ship's equipment.
Other sources of energy located at the target are
light, heat from the propulsion system, and sound,
to name a few. No ship-launched surface-to-air
missiles (RIMs) in current use depend on passive
homing guidance all the way.
Several air-launched missiles use the homing
method of guidance. The Navy's Shrike uses
passive radar homing, Sidewinder used infrared
homing, and Sparrow III uses semiactive
continuous wave (CW) radar homing.

SEMIACTIVE LEAD HOMING
GUIDANCE

A missile using semiactive homing guidance
receives radar energy along an indirect path. Radar
waves are sent out from a fire control radar to a
target. The transmitted waves strike the target and
bounce off it. Some of the reflected waves of radar
energy travel toward the semiactive homing missile
sent out from your ship to intercept the target.
Figure 4-24 shows the paths of the homing signals.
A radar receiving antenna, called the seeker, or
seeker head, in the nose of the weapon picks up the
reflected energy. Then the rest of the missile
guidance system causes the missile to home on the
target.

83

Semiactive homing is more accurate than beam-
rider guidance because the closer a semiactive
guidance system gets to a target the more accurate
the system becomes. On the other side of the
guidance coin, the beam rider becomes less
accurate as it approaches the target because the
guidance beam spreads out from its source. The
farther the target is from the ship, the wider the
beam is in the target area. Thus the beam rider
missile must maneuver more to stay in the center of
the beam. But the semiactive homing missile
receives stronger radar echoes as it approaches the
target, and gets tighter control over its movements.
We're not implying
that the beam rider is not effective, because it is.
We just want to point out that the beam rider
technique has decreased accuracy at extended
range.
The radar receiver in a semi active homing
missile acts similarly to the beam-rider receiver,
but with one exception. Instead of receiving target
position information from a beam the semi active
missile receives echoes from a target. You will
recall that the fire control radar determines the
direction to the target for the beam rider. The semi
active homer itself must determine its course to the
target. Briefly, this is the way it does it. The
missile's homing antenna system

84

locates the target, and automatically tracks it. The
tracking process established the line of sight
between the missile and target. A computer in the
guidance system uses this tracking information to
produce steering signals.
You might think that the missile flies along the
line of sight, but this is not the case. The missile is
made to fly a collision course. If you have ever
stood a wheel watch on board ship, you know what
a collision course is. It's the one that causes a lot of
excitement when steering unintentionally. But to
illustrate a point, let's say you are the helmsman
and the officer of the deck gives you a course to
intercept a ship. Say the ship bears 045 relative. If
the intercept course is correct, this bearing will not
change as your ship steams along its track. As you
shall soon see, the semi active homing missile uses
a similar navigational technique to intercept a
target. The guidance system uses a refined collision
course, and it is the refinement to the course that
interests you. The missile receives this refinement
before it is launched. And how does it get it? Like
the other preflight information we have talked
about, the missile receives navigational
information through the warmup contactor on the
launcher.
Now back to semi active homing navigation.
Figure 4-25 shows a situation similar to the one on
board ship that we talked about a moment
ago. But in this case the missile contains the
helmsman in the form of the guidance system. Now
the target is a supersonic bomber instead of a ship.
To intercept high-speed targets like aircraft and
missiles, a semi active homing missile must follow
a lead (collision) course. The intercept point is at
the intersection of the missile and target flight
paths. The best collision or lead course happens
when the missile heading keeps a constant angle
with the line of sight to the target. This course
requires missile accelerations to be only as great as
target accelerations. Specifically, if the target flies
a straight-line, constant-velocity course, the missile
can also follow a straight-line collision course if its
velocity does not change. But in practice, this ideal
situation does not exist. Missile velocity seldom
stays constant. Irregular sustainer propellant
burning changes thrust, and therefore affects speed.
Outside disturbances such as wind gusts change the
speed and path of the missile. So the missile will
often have to adjust its direction to maintain a
constant bearing with the target.
If the missile path is changed at the same rate as
the changes in target bearing (see part A of figure
4-25), the missile will have to turn at an increasing
rate (positions 1 to 6), and will end up chasing the
target (positions 6 to 7). This flight path follows a
pursuit curve and the

85

missile cannot maintain a constant bearing with the
target. The missile is just keeping up with changes
in target bearing and may not be able to catch up
with the target. At the same time, it is burning up a
lot of needed fuel.
So, to achieve the desired straight-line course
during the final and critical portion of the attack,
the missile must turn at a rate greater than the rate
at which the line of sight is turning. By
overcorrecting the missile path in this way, a new
collision heading is reached; and the bearing angle
will remain almost constant, especially near
intercept. This type of control is depicted in part B
of figure 4-25. The ratio of rate of turn of the
missile to the rate of turn of the line of sight (rate
of change of target bearing) is called the navigation
ratio, and is usually between three to one and four
to one.
This technique of overcorrection results in a
course called proportional navigation or, as you
will sometimes see it written in OPs, N factor.
Regardless of name, the shipboard missile fire
control computer calculates the ratio and transmits
it to the missile launching system for transfer to the
missile's guidance and control system before
launch.

DOPPLER PRINCIPLE

This principle, which bears the name of its
discoverer, Christian Doppler (1803-53), pertains
to the shift or change in frequency of a series of
waves that occurs when there is relative motion
along the line of transmission of energy between
the source and the receiver of these waves. Some
examples of waves that can be frequency shifted
are sound, light, infrared, radio, and radar. A
simple illustration of the Doppler effect in terms of
sound waves is familiar to everyone who has
observed the change in pitch of a train whistle as it
approaches or recedes rapidly. When approaching,
the sound-producing whistle comes a little nearer
between each two successive sound waves it emits,
and the waves strike the ear in more rapid
succession, so that the frequency becomes greater
and the pitch rises. If the train is moving away
from the observer, the interval between successive
sound waves is slightly increased, the frequency
received by the ear is slightly decreased, and as a
result, the pitch is lowered. The difference between
the frequency of the sound waves when the train is
standing still and when it is in motion is called the
Doppler shift. This frequency difference could be
used to measure the speed of the train with respect
to the observer. The acoustical Doppler effect
varies with the relative motion of the listener and
the source, and the medium through which the
sound passes. In the familiar example given, the
sound waves were passing through normal
atmosphere. By applying the principle to light
waves, scientists are able to estimate the velocity of
luminous bodies, such as stars.

86

The laws applying to light and other
electromagnetic waves, applied to radar, gave us
the Doppler radar system to measure the relative
velocity of the system and the target. A radar set
radiates waves of r-f energy. When these waves
strike an object, some of the r-f energy is reflected
back as an echo. When the echo returns to the radar
set, the radar detects or "sees" the target. A
continuous-wave (CW) radar set beams
uninterrupted energy of a constant frequency
toward the target. The target, in reflecting the
waves, is in effect a second transmitter. The
difference in frequency between the reflected
waves and the original is the Doppler shift, and
mixing the reference and the echo voltages gives
the Doppler signal. The presence of this signal
indicates a moving target. To eliminate the
possibility of homing on objects other than the
target, a band-pass filter is inserted in the control
circuit to eliminate interfering signals. A band-pass
filter will pass only a narrow band of frequencies.
The Doppler principle is illustrated in figure 4-
26. Note that the received wave from a distant
moving object is shifted both to the right and
upward with respect to the original transmission.
Consequently, the beat frequency (the signal
resulting from mixing the two signals in the
receiver) will be alternately very small and very
large on succeeding half cycles. Thus the
frequency-modulated radar determines the distance
to a reflecting surface by measuring the frequency
shift between the transmitted and the reflected
waves.

Pulse Doppler Radar

Theoretically, continuous-wave systems are the
most efficient in use. The chief difficulty is
leakage of spurious signals from the transmitter to
the receiver. Pulsing enables the receiver to be
rendered insensitive during transmission, thereby
avoiding leakage signals. The pulse- Doppler
method uses high frequency c-w in the form of
short bursts or pulses. The pulse repetition rate
(PRR) is much higher than that of a conventional
pulse radar, and the pulse length is longer. The
pulse radar radiates energy at a selected time
interval; this permits very accurate measurement of
range.

CLASSIFICATION OF NAVY MISSILES

Although missiles are often known by their
popular names (for instance, TERRIER, TARTAR,
TALOS, or STANDARD), every missile is also
assigned a military designation. This designation
indicated the launch environment (where launched
and from what type of launching device), mission,
delivery vehicle type, design number, and series
symbol of the missile.
The following letters are used to indicate the
launch environment:

A - air launched.
B - capable of being launched from more than
one environment.
C - horizontally stored in a protective enclosure
(coffin type structure) and launched from above
ground level.
H - vertically stored below ground (silo stored)
and launched from above ground.
L - vertically stored and launched from below
ground level (silo launched).
M - launched from a ground vehicle or movable
platform (mobile).

87

P - partially protected or nonprotected in storage
(soft pad) and launched from above ground level.
R - launched from a surface vessel, such as a
ship, barge, or other surface craft. (TERRIER,
TARTAR, TALOS, and STANDARD have "R"
designation.)
U - launched from a submarine or other
underwater device.

mission:

D - decoy (confuse, deceive, or divert enemy
defenses).
E - special electronics (communications,
countermeasures, etc.).
G - surface attack (enemy land and sea targets).
I - intercept-aerial (TERRIER, TARTAR,
TALOS and STANDARD fall into this category.)
Q - drone.
T - training.
U - underwater attack.
W - weather.

vehicle type:

M - guided missile (the 3 Ts and Standard).
N - probe.
R - rocket.
The design number is a number assigned to each
type of missile with the number "1" assigned to the
first missile developed. For example, all five
modifications of the TERRIER missile (BW-0,
BW-l, BT-3, BT-3A and HT-3) have the design
number "2." TARTAR missile modifications
(Basic and Improved TARTAR) have the design
number" 24."
To distinguish between modifications of a
missile type, series symbol letters beginning with
"A" are assigned. Therefore, the TERRIER BW-0
has been assigned the symbol letter "A" and the
TERRIER BW1 has been assigned the symbol
letter "B." The series symbol letter follows the
design number. Incidentally, to avoid confusion
between letters and numbers, the letters "I" and
"O" will not be used for series symbol letters.
If necessary, a prefix letter is included before the
military designation. A list of applicable prefix
letters follow:
J - special test, temporary.
N - special test, permanent.
X - experimental.
Y -prototype.
Z - planning.
The following list of Navy shipboard missile
and rocket designations is included for reference:
TERRIER (BW-0) - RIM-2A
TERRIER (BW-1) - RIM-2B
TERRIER (BT-3) - RIM-2C
TERRIER (BT-3A) - RIM-2D
TERRIER (HT-3) - RIM-2E
TALOS (6b) - RIM8A
TALOS (6b1) - RIM-8C
TALOS (6bW) - RIM-8B
TALOS (6bW1) - RIM-8D
TALOS (6c1) - RIM-8E
TALOS (6b1/CW) - RIM-8F
TARTAR (Basic) - RIM-24A
TARTAR (Improved) - RIM-24B
STANDARD (MR) - RIM-66A
STANDARD (ER) - RIM-67A
POLARIS (A-1) - UGM-27 A
POLARIS (A-2) - UGM-27B
POLARIS (A-3) - UGM-27C
SUBROC - UUM-44A
WEAPON ALPHA - RUR-4A
ASROC-RUR-5A J
All Navy missiles are assigned mark (Mk) and
modification (Mod) numbers. These numbers and
the name of the missile constitute the official
nomenclature approved by Ordnance Systems
Command. Missiles having two stage propulsion
systems (separate boosters), for instance, the
TERRIER, TALOS, and STANDARD (ER), have
one Mk and Mod number for the complete round.
However, the individual missile and booster
sections have their own mark and modification
numbers. A chart of all Navy missile designations,
including the former designations is published
periodically by Ordnance Systems Command and
for all the Services by the Department of Defense.

SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES

Long known as SAMs, the ship-launched
missiles you will handle are now designated RIMs.
Shore-launched surface-to-air missiles are still
called SAMs.
So far in this text, we have emphasized the
principles which underlie the operation of guided
missiles in general. Very little mention has been
made of specific Navy missiles. This has been done
intentionally with several reasons in mind,

First, many of the principles Which have been
discussed are common to all missiles To discuss
each principle with relation to each operational
missile is beyond the scope of this course.

88

Second, a given principle might be related to one
model of a missile family and unrelated to another
model of the same family. Thus, confusion would
arise.
Finally, your duties aboard ship in regard to
missiles require that you have only a general
knowledge of how missiles work.

TERRIER MISSILE CHARACTERISTICS

Terrier missiles (fig. 4-27), come in three
different varieties - beam-rider, wing-controlled
(BW); beam-rider, tail-controlled (BT); and
semiactive-homing, tail-controlled (HT). The
beam-rider, wing-controlled missiles have the
popular designation of BW-0 and BW-1. These
missiles are being phased out of operation so we
won't cover them here.
The beam-rider, tail-controlled (BT) missiles are
of two major types, BT-3 and BT-3A. The BT-3A
is similar to the BT-3. The principal difference
between the two is that the BT-3A can carry a
conventional or a nuclear warhead. When a nuclear
warhead is installed in the BT-3A, the missile is
designated BT-3A (N). A fragmentation warhead
can also be used. In this case the missile is called a
BT-3A (F). The range of the BT-3B is much
greater than that of the BT-3A.
In outward appearance and size, the HT-type
Terrier missiles are similar to the BTs, though
somewhat longer. Figure 4-27D shows the general
appearance and the location of the four major units.
You can see a difference in the appearance of the
nose section, but the chief difference is in the
method of guidance, which will be explained later.

BT Terrier Missiles

Figure 4-28 shows the general outline of the
components of the BT-3 and BT-3A (F) Terrier
missile. Note that this is the Terrier missile, not the
Terrier round - the booster rocket is not included
here. We covered the external features of the
Terrier in the previous chapter. Now we will
discuss the various sections in the BT type
missiles. BTs are composed of six sections:
1. Mounted on the front of the missile is the nose
section. This section contains an air pressure
measuring instrument called a nose probe. It has an
electrical output which is proportional to missile
speed and to air density. This signal changes the
gain of the tail steering control amplifiers. This
variable gain is needed because
the higher a missile flies, or the lower its speed, the
more tail deflection is needed to produce a given
movement of the missile body.
A dust cover is placed over the pressure probe to
prevent dirt and other foreign material from
entering the nose probe. The dust cover is torn
away or split apart at launch.
2. Just aft of the nose section is the fuze section.
It contains the target detection device (TDD) and
the warhead safety and arming device (S&A). The
TDD senses the presence of a target and sends a
signal through the S&A device to detonate the
fragmentation warhead. The primary purpose of the
S&A device is to delay arming the warhead until
the missile is clear of your ship. (There is more
about the TDD and the S&A device in chapter 10.)
3. Aft of the fuze section is the warhead. This is
the' 'reason for being" of the entire missile, as well
as the weapon system itself. The main idea behind
the millions of dollars worth of equipment on your
ship is to put the warhead section where it will do
the most damage to the target.
When the missile approaches close to or collides
with the target, this is the "moment of truth." The
kill is made with small metal fragments ejected
from the exploding warhead (fragmentation type).
4. Next to the warhead section is the electronic
section. This section contains the guidance
equipment and electrical power supplies. The
major unit in the electronic section is the radar
receiver. It picks up radar information from the
guidance beam and converts it into steering signals.
You might say that the receiver compares the
missile's position with that of the guidance beam's
center. For illustration, if the missile is to the right
and up from beam center, the receiver circuitry
generated tail control signals to bring the missile
down and to the left. When the missile is flying in
the exact center of the beam, no steering signals are
produced. But this seldom happens. Wind gusts
blow the missile off course, and gravity is always
at work tending to push it down. The missile fights
both forces by constantly correcting its flight path.
In practice, the missile's flight is often a spiral
around the axis of the guidance beam.
The electronic section contains vacuum tubes.
As you know, vacuum tubes control the flow of
electrons that are emitted from heated cathodes.
For stable operation of vacuum tube circuits the
flow of electrons from the cathode surface must be
even, steady cathode emission

89

90

occurs when the filament reaches a certain
temperature. This process takes time- about 20
seconds. So before a missile is launched, electrical
power from a source outside the missile is applied
to it.

The electronic section contains other units that
require "warming up" before the missile is
launched. These are the gyros. It takes time for a
gyro to reach its proper operating point.
Temperature is not a critical factor in gyro
operation, however, but the speed of its rotor is.
Therefore, the missile's gyro must be warmed up
before flight. The same external source that
warmed up the filaments is used to apply current to
the gyro wheels and bring them up to operating
speed.
There are four gyros in the electronic section-
three rate gyros and one position (directional) gyro.
Earlier we said that the missile had to know which
way is up before it could respond to guidance
commands. The position gyro, called the roll free
gyro, provides this reference direction.
Incidentally, the term roll free gyro does not mean
the gyro is free to roll. It means that a free gyro is
used to provide a vertical reference line about
which missile roll motion may be measured. A
characteristic of a free gyro is that its spin axis will
remain in the direction in which it is originally
pointed. In this case, the rotor (spin) axis of the roll
free gyro is placed in the vertical before missile
launch. Theoretically, the missile could spin about
its center of gravity and when these

91

gyrations were finished the spin axis would still be
pointing straight up and down. The other gyros, the
rate gyros, are not free.
Two of the three rate gyros, called steering rate
gyros, sense and measure the angular velocity of
the missile as it turns about its center of gravity in
answer to steering commands. The output of the
steering rate gyros is a voltage that is proportional
to the angular velocity (rate) of the missile body
about the yaw and pitch axes. The purpose of these
rate signals is to prevent the missile from
overshooting and oscillating across the beam axis
as it responds to steering commands. This damping
technique is similar to the damping method used in
some launcher power drive servos. There,
tachometer generators sense and measure launcher
velocity and send a voltage proportional to velocity
to the servoamplifier to reduce over-shooting and
oscillation about the desired position. Tach
generators can't be used in missiles because there is
nothing to gear them to except air. But rate gyros
can sense the motion of a body in this kind of
environment.
The third rate gyro, called the roll rate gyro,
senses the missile's speed and direction as it rolls.
The roll rate gyro provides a damping signal to the
roll amplifier in the steering system to reduce
overshoots and oscillation of the missile about its
correct roll attitude.

5. The sustainer is the missile's longest section.
It houses a solid propellant which, as it burns,
exhausts hot gases through the after section to the
atmosphere. The reaction to the hot gas flow is the
force that propels the missile. The sustainer of the
BT-3B missile is a longer burning type, with a
corresponding increase in operation time, which
accounts for its greatly increased range.

6. The aft section could have been called the
muscle section because it provides the sources of
electrical and hydraulic power. This section is the
last section of the missile proper. The aft section
contains two power supplies- a hydraulic auxiliary
power supply and an electrical auxiliary power
supply. (The term auxiliary is used to differentiate
between these two units and the sustainer, which is
considered to be the primary source of missile
power.) The hydraulic auxiliary power supply
furnishes hydraulic fluid under pressure to the four
hydraulic systems that control the movement of the
tail surfaces. The electrical auxiliary power
supply furnishes all the electricity to operate relays,
gyros, electronic circuits, and other electrical units
within the missile.

HT TERRIER MISSILES

The HT-Type Terrier missile, figure 4-29, looks
like the BT-3, but the HT-3 is longer. Also, the
length of the BT-3 varies with the type of its
warhead. Besides the HT-3, the basic version of the
homing type Terrier, there is the HT-3S.
Much of the actual hardware of the HT-3 missile
is common to the BT-3 missile. Both types use the
same Mk and Mod booster and the same sustainer.
Also, the after sections of the HT-3 and the BT-3
are identical.
The HT-3 has a semi active homing guidance
system. The missile receives signals transmitted
from an illuminating radar aboard ship and
illumination signals reflected from the target. The
missile uses this information to follow a collision
course to the target.
The HT missile has four major units: (1) forward
assembly, (2) warhead section, (3) sustainer and (4)
aft section.
The forward assembly has two main parts - the
guidance section and the target detecting device
insert and antennas. The radome covers the
antennas and is transparent to radar waves. The
ram pressure probe in the tip and the blow- away
shield are similar to those in the BT-3 missile. The
guidance section is composed of five round and flat
sections called wheels.
The HT-3 Terrier missile is electronically
similar to the Improved Tartar missile. Because
these missiles are so similar we will skip a
discussion of the HT-3 and turn our attention to the
improved version of the Tartar missile. Thus, we
call kill two birds with one stone.

TARTAR MISSILES

Tartar (fig. 4-30), is a single-stage, rocket-
propelled, supersonic, tail-controlled missile. There
are two versions of Tartar - Basic Tartar and
Improved Tartar. Basic Tartar is being phased out
of operation. At present it is not in production, and
is being used only as a training missile. Therefore
we will cover it in this text. The improved version
however, is one of our major defenses against
close-in air targets, and it is the one we will talk
about here.
The Improved Tartar, called IT hereafter,
contains a semi active homing and a passive
guidance system. Normally, the missile uses

92

semi active guidance to intercept the target. But if
the IT is flying toward a target that is jamming, the
missile switches from semi active homing to
passive homing. Then it homes in on the target.
The IT missile consists of four principal
assemblies. An exploded view of the missile is
shown in figure 4-30, which indicates the four
major assemblies: (1) forward assembly, (2)
warhead section, (3) dual-thrust rocket motor, and
(4) steering-power section. Note that this is a
complete round; the Tartar does not have a separate
booster rocket.

Forward Assembly

This assembly consists of the guidance section
and the Target Detection Device (TDD) with
its antenna system. The purpose of the homing
section is to track the target and develop guidance
signals. The TDD senses the presence of the target
when it is within destructive range of the warhead.
The guidance section is made up of five ring-
shape units called wheels, or wheel packages. They
are numbered 1 through 5 from front to rear. These
five wheels are:
1. Homing Unit (Wheel 1). The first wheel
contains the seeker head antenna, reference
antennas, and passive homing circuitry.
2. Homing Receiver (Wheel 2). This package
contains most of the seeker head guidance circuits
and the self-destruct circuits.
3. Guidance Computer (Wheel 3). The computer
uses output signals from the homing system to
produce missile steering orders that keep

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the missile on a collision course with the target.
Outputs of the roll free and roll rate gyros are also
used by the guidance computer to generate roll
stabilization commands to the control surfaces.
4. Instrument Set (Wheel 4). The instrument set
contains the circuitry that connects the roll
stabilization gyros mentioned above to the
guidance computer. This section also contains the
circuitry that times various functions in the missile.
5. Target Detection Device (Wheel 5). The target
detection device is located here. It detects the
presence of the target when it is within lethal range
of the warhead. At intercept the target detection
device sends a pulse of energy to the warhead. This
pulse sets off the warhead charge.
Warhead Section

The warhead section contains a high-explosive
charge and a continuous rod warhead. A Safe and
Arm (S&A) mechanism, along with a fuze booster,
is installed in the center of the warhead. The S&A
device will detonate the warhead charge if:

1. The target detecting device senses the target.
2. The missile fails to receive the illuminating
radar signal at the reference antenna.
3. The missile electrical power fails.

The S&A device permits safe handling of the
missile aboard ship and makes sure that the
warhead will not detonate until the missile is a

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safe distance from the ship after launch. The
explosive units in the missile are discussed in more
detail in chapter 10.
As seen in the figure, the warhead section GCA
is simply a metal sleeve that forms the missile skin
along the warhead section. The letters GCA stand
for Guidance, Control, and Airframes, and indicate
components, in addition to the explosive, that are
part of the warhead section.
Figure 4-30 also shows an exercise head or
telemetering insert. This is inserted in place of the
warhead when the missile is used for practice. You
are not going to use live missiles, each costing
many thousands of dollars, when you have practice
sessions with missile firing.

Dual-Thrust Rocket Motor (DTRM)

This section was covered in chapter 3. At the
present time, the Tartar and Standard (MR) are the
only Navy missiles that use this type propulsion
system, which combines the sustainer and the
booster.

Steering and Power Section

In Terrier missiles BT-3 and HT-3, the
components of this section are contained in the part
called aft section (figs. 4-28, 4-29).
Two auxiliary power supply (APS) gas
generators are in the steering and power section.
One generator supplies hydraulic power, whereas
the other unit supplies electrical power to operate
the electronic section. The tail control system
which moves the missile tails is also a part of the
steering-power section.
Fuel carried in the steering-power section is
ignited in a combustion chamber. This produces
hot gases which drive the electrical and hydraulic
generators. After the gases are used, residue from
the gases is vented out the sides of the steering-
power section. Incidentally, this bit of information
is helpful in distinguishing between a misfire and a
dud. But we'll talk about this in chapter 9 where we
will cover missile firing.
The APS gas generators, described very briefly
above, form a complex system. New missiles will
use a much simpler all-electric power source.

STANDARD MISSILES

The Standard missiles RIM-66A and RIM- 67A
are surface launched, rocket propelled, homing
type, supersonic guided missiles that
may be used against surface or air-borne targets.
RIM-66A is a medium range missile (MR) that
resembles the Tartar missile. RIM-67 A is an
extended range missile (ER) that resembles the
Terrier missile.
The following paragraphs give a brief
description of the sections and components of the
missiles. Unless otherwise indicated, the discussion
applies to both the ER and MR configurations. This
is in part due to the interchangeability of many
sections and components of the two configurations.
Figure 4-31 shows the major sections and
components of the MR missile and figure 4-32
shows the major sections and components of an ER
missile.
The ER and MR missiles consist of the
following major sections: (1) Guidance section, (2)
Ordnance section, (3) Control section, (4)
Propulsion section.

Guidance Section

The guidance section of the ER and MR missiles
operate as either a semi active or passive homing
system. Roll stabilization and steering are
accomplished by the movement of four
aerodynamic control surfaces (tails).
Guidance by semiactive homing requires a
surface based continuous-wave (CW) radar signal
to illuminate the target, and a missile receiver to
continuously receive and track the energy reflected
from the target. Angular changes in the missile or
target heading are sensed by the missile guidance
system and transferred into appropriate control
surface movements to steer the missile along a
target intercept course.
The guidance section is identical for ER and MR
missiles and consists of a radome assembly, two
reference antennas, and a guidance assembly. The
radome structure assembly consists of an
aluminum guidance section shell and an rf
transparent radome. The radome serves as a
protective covering for the guidance unit while
allowing reception of the target signal, and is made
of a pyroceramic material terminated at the forward
end with a small metal tip. The reference antennas
are flush-mounted in cutouts on the top and bottom
of the radome structure and receive the rf energy
directly from the surface based radar.

Ordnance Section

The ordnance section for the ER and MR
missiles in interchangeable and consists of a fuze
shroud assembly, warhead, safety and arming

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(S&A) device, and a fuze booster. The fuze shroud
assembly houses the components of the ordnance
section. The fuze shroud includes a proximity fuze,
contact fuze, and an antenna assembly, which are
all installed in the aft end of the antenna shroud.
The proximity fuze with its associated four
antennas, detects the target through its own radar
transmitting and receiving system. The fuze trigger
circuit is enabled for an airborne target and
disabled for a surface target by a target select
signal prior to launch. The contact fuze is a shock
sensing device consisting of a piezoelectric crystal
accelerometer and a switching circuit. When the
crystal accelerometer output exceeds a
predetermined level (caused by
impact with the target), it drives a switching circuit
which supplies a signal to the proximity fuze firing
circuit.

The fuze booster is an explosive device that
continues the fuze train initiated by the S&A
device to detonate the warhead.

Control Section

The control section consists of the autopilot-
battery unit, steering control unit, dorsal fins,
dorsal telemeter assembly, and control surfaces.

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97

With the exception of the control surfaces, none of
these assemblies are interchangeable between the
ER and MR missiles.

Power Supply

The missile power supply is composed of a
primary battery and a power distribution assembly.
The remotely activated, dry charged primary
battery supplies all missile power during flight.
The power distribution assembly distributes the
primary battery power to the various missile
components and contains circuits for limiting the
delaying power to certain missile components.

Propulsion System

Propulsion for the MR missile is supplied by a
solid fuel, dual-thrust rocket motor (DTRM) which
provides short duration high thrust for the initial or
boost flight period, and long duration low thrust for
the remainder of the propelled flight.
. The ER missile is propelled by a solid fuel
booster which provides short duration high thrust
for the initial or boost flight period. When booster
thrust decays, aerodynamic drag forces separate the
booster from the missile. Separation of the booster
results in ignition of the sustainer rocket. When
ignited, the solid-fuel sustainer rocket supplies long
duration low thrust for the remainder of the
propelled flight.

TALOS

Talos is larger than either Terrier, Tartar or
Standard. It differs from Terrier, Tartar and
Standard missiles not only in size but in its type of
propulsion. Talos is a ramjet, whereas Tartar,
Terrier and Standard are rocket propelled. Talos is
supersonic and so are the other members of the
Bumblebee family. Like Terrier and Standard
(ER), Talos is a two-stage missile, consisting of a
solid propellant rocket booster and the missile
proper. Talos missiles are either beam-riders with
terminal homing guidance, or beam-riders during
their entire flight.

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The Talos missile itself is officially designed as
guided missile Mk 11. There are three
modifications: 3, 4, and 5, as shown in figure 4-33.
The mod designation is further elaborated with
descriptive symbols such as:
1. 6b1 (CW) for the mod 3 (RIM 8F).
2. 6bW1 for the mod 4 (RIM 8D).
3. 6c1 for the mod 5 (RIM 8E).
For practical purposes, the Talos missile is
categorized according to the type of warhead it is
intended to carry. The capital letter S indicates a
high explosive warhead, and capital letter W
indicates a missile intended to carry a nuclear
warhead. Therefore, Talos Guided Missile Mk 11
Mod 3, 6b1 (CW) is an S type missile because it is
designed to carry only a standard high explosive
warhead. But Talos Missile Mk 11 Mod 5 can be
called either an S type or W type because it can
carry either a standard or nuclear warhead. The Mk
11 Mod 4 (6bW1 or RIM 8D) is only a "W"
missile.
At first reading the methods of classifying Talos
missiles may seem confusing but in a few years it
will be easy. There will be only the 6c1 to worry
about. It is planned to phase out the other two
missiles. And this is one of the reasons we will
cover only the 6c1 in this course. Another reason
we will limit the coverage to this particular missile
is that it contains all the features of the 6b1 and
6bW1. In other words, the 6c1 is a unified version
of the 6b1 and 6bW1.
The Talos 6c1 is a two-stage, surface-to-air,
solid-rocket launched, ramjet propelled, guided
missile. After it is boosted to supersonic speed, it is
guided during its midcourse flight phase by a
beam-rider guidance system. Near the end of the
missile's flight it switches from beam-rider to semi
active homing guidance. During this terminal
phase, the target is illuminated by a shipboard
tracking and illuminating radar. The missile then
homes in on the reflected radar energy from the
target. When the missile is in the vicinity of the
target, the kill is made with either a nuclear
warhead or a standard continuous-rod high
explosive warhead. (The continuous-rod warhead
is described and illustrated in chapter 11.) The 6c1
is capable of carrying one or the other. For
peacetime exercises the missile can be fitted with
the continuous-rod warhead, exercise warhead, or a
nuclear training warhead. Aboard ship you will
handle the warheads we mentioned above.
The body structure of the 6c1 (fig. 4-34), is
divided into three major sections:
1. Forward body section
2. Center body section.
3. Aft body section
They are not taken apart on board ship. But you
will have to remove and replace modules or
packages in these sections. As in the case of
Terrier, the trend is toward packaging components
so if a part malfunctions, the complete component
can be pulled out as a unit and a new one put in
without disassembling the module. To make it easy
to get at the modules, compartment covers are
provided. Figure 4-35 shows the location of the
covers. Now let's start forward on the missile and
work aft.

First, the cowl is a one-piece removable cover.
Incidentally, the cowl is very easily damaged and
must be very carefully handled. A scratch or dent
will destroy the missile in flight. The inner body is
under the cowl. There are three interchangeable
innerbody assemblies. One innerbody assembly
can be used for either the tactical nuclear warhead
or for the nuclear warhead training warhead.
Another innerbody is used for the exercise head.
Still another innerbody is for the continuous rod
warhead. The outer contours of all three
innerbodies are the same. Together with the cowl,
the inner body, besides acting as a container for
warheads, forms the compressor section for the
ramjet propulsion system.

Now we come to the electronic compartment
cover. It is a one-piece removable wraparound
cover which forms the outer skin of the forward
section. Hinged doors on the cover provide access
to test receptacles and switches.

Most of the missile's electronic guidance and
control equipment is located under the electronic
compartment cover. The beam rider and semi
active homing receivers are there The power
supply for the electronic equipment is also located
there.
Next is the accessory compartment cover. It is a
two-piece cover which provides access to the
hydraulic system, wing control components,
missile batteries, and the ramjet fuel system. The
gyro packages and accelerometers are also there.

Finally, we come to the two-piece aft
compartment cover. The principal units under it are
the telemetering equipment, the range transmitter
(Beacon), and the ramjet ignition unit.

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CHAPTER 5

GUIDED MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION

The guided missile launching system (GMLS)
on a ship is that part of a ship's installation
designed to stow and launch the missiles. Its
purpose is to deliver a missile, ready for firing,
from the missile magazine to the launcher guide
arm. It must also return a missile from the launcher
to the magazine for stowage. The launching system
includes the feeder system, the launcher, and the
launching system control. The feeder system stores
the missiles and delivers them to the launcher. A
typical feeder system consists of the missile
magazine, loader, assembler, and strikedown and
checkout equipment. Figure 5-1 shows these
components for the Mk 12 GMLS (Talos). Not all
launching systems have all these major
components. The Tartar system, for example, does
not have an assembler. For launchers with two
arms, there are also duplicate components of the
other parts of the system, one for the A-side and
the other to supply the B-side, either
simultaneously or independently.
Although the ship's fire control system is
essential for successful missile action, it is not
considered part of the launching system.
In your work around missiles and launchers you
have undoubtedly heard the term "launching
groups." The term "group" means the same thing as
system - a group of inter-related equipments. The
launching system for the ASROC, which is the
responsibility of the Gunner's Mate (T), is called
"launching group."

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The discussion here, because it is limited to but
one chapter in a course that must take up many
topics other than this, will unavoidably omit a good
many details.
The overall configuration of a missile launching
system is determined by the type of missile
used and the class of ship on which it is installed.
The missile type is the most important factor to be
considered.
The types of launching systems, however, are
designed for specific ships, or rather, classes of
ships. Many changes have evolved since the USS
Gyatt was converted from a conventional DD to
the first guided missile ship.
The arrangement of the major components of a
launching system that handles the same type
missile will vary with the Mk and Mod of the
launching system, and the ship on which it is
installed. This is especially the case with the
location of the stowage area or magazine.
The Talos system, being large, is placed only on
CGs, CLGs, and CGNs. The much smaller Tartar
system is placed on smaller ships, such as DDGs,
although CGs may have Tartar as well as Talos
systems aboard.

LAUNCHERS

The main purpose of a launcher is to provide a
launching platform or pad for missiles. But
launchers have secondary purposes too: they must
support missiles, aim them, prepare them for firing
and, finally, launch them in the direction of the
target. All missile launchers you will work with do
these fundamental jobs.
The modern missile launcher is characterized by:

1. Its ability to position itself in train and
elevation.
2. A structure that can support missiles singly or
in pairs.
3. Devices that provide a method of inserting
information into the missile before it is fired.
4. Devices that fire the missile.
5. Systems that provide for the safety of the ship,
missile, and personnel.

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CHAPTER 5 - GUIDED MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEMS

Every missile launcher has these general
characteristics. In this section we will take up the
more significant and common features of
launchers.

Types of Launchers

Missile launchers may be classified in many
ways:
1. By the common name of the missile it
launches. Thus, you can call a launcher a Talos,
Tartar, or Terrier launcher.
2. By the number of rails or guide arms. This
method of classification is illustrated in figure 5-2.
Notice that Terrier and Talos launchers are dual-
arm ones, while Tartar launchers come in two
varieties - single- or dual-arm types.
3. By the elevation position of the guide or
missile-supporting structure when loading missiles.
All Tartar launchers are vertical-load types. Early
Terrier launchers are also vertical- load launchers.
But the more modern Terrier launchers load
missiles with the guide arms

horizontal to the deck plane, or nearly so (at an
angle on forward installations). Talos launchers
receive missiles with the guide arms horizontal to
the deck.
4. By the distance the missile travels on the
launcher during firing. If the first motion of the
missile during the launching process releases it
from the launcher, the launcher is called a zero-
length type. But, if the missile travels any distance
along its supporting rail, the launcher is designated
a rail-type launcher. Terrier and Talos launchers
are sometimes loosely called zero-length launchers,
but their missiles during launch do travel several
inches before they detach themselves from the
launcher.

Various proposals have been made to use guns
for launching missiles, but at present this method
has not been used on ships, although successful test
firings have been made. The Tartar Mk 22
launching system was designed to use the training
circle of a 5"/54 caliber gun.

FEEDER SYSTEMS

Some of the most noticeable differences are in
the components of the feeder system.

Magazines

The three Terrier systems use magazines of
entirely different designs. The Mk 4 system, which
is installed on the USS Boston and USS Canberra,
has the missiles stored in a vertical position and the
launcher is located directly over the magazine, so
the missiles are loaded vertically. The Mk 10
system, now used on most Terrier ships, stows the
missiles in a horizontal position; but there are
differences in the details of loading and unloading.
The Mk 10 system has the missiles stowed in a
ready service ring that rotates to the position
directed when a missile is to be transferred. The
Mk 9 system also had the missile stowed in a
horizontal position, but in cells, and the hoist (a
transfer car on rails) has to go to the missile to
bring it up, instead of the missile being brought up
to the hoist for moving to the loader, as in the Mk
10 system. The missile is extracted from the cell,
and placed on the transfer car, which moves it to
the loader.
The Mk 7 Talos system stows the missiles in a
ready service compartment which contains trays
that index to bring the selected missile to the hoist
for loading. In addition, there is a replenishing
magazine for additional missiles.

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The Mk 12 Talos system (fig. 5-1) stows its
missiles in trays, positioned like the cells in the Mk
9 Terrier system, but movable.
The missiles in all of the Tartar systems are
stored in a vertical position in ready service rings
directly below the launcher. Since Tartar missiles
are complete, no assembly area is needed. The
missile fins, which are on the missile in a folded
position, unfold automatically after the missile is
on the launcher.

Loader

In figure 5-1, locate the loader, sometimes called
the rammer. It picks up the missile after it has been
brought up from the magazine, moves it to the
assembly area, where the wings and fins are
attached, and then moves it to the launcher. Of
course there are many more steps in this sequence,
which we will not detail here. In systems where the
launcher is directly above the magazine, there is no
need for this lengthy transfer, and the loading
sequence is shortened.

Assembler

The assembly area is in the missile house, near
the launcher. The wings and fins that are to be
attached to the missiles are stored in racks in this
area. Men are stationed here (the number varies
with the type of missile and its Mk and Mod) and
they attach a wing or fin to the missile as it rests on
the loader. It must be done very quickly to
maintain the timing sequence of the launcher, and
the men must have had precision- timed training
before they are assigned to the task.

Strikedown and Checkout Equipment

By strikedown we mean the loading of the ship's
magazines with missiles, boosters, and other
missile components. Checkout means the preflight
checks on missiles by the use of special test
equipment. The tests are conducted by men of
other ratings; your part of the job is to position and
prepare the missiles for testing. Mating and
unmating of missiles is performed in the checkout
area; this, too, is part of your job. The layout and
the location of the checkout area varies with the
missile and the ship. See chapter 14 for illustrations
and detailed discussion.
LAUNCHING SYSTEM CONTROL

The third major component of the launching
system is the control equipment. The control panels
for components are located as close to the
component as possible. The large control panel
offers pushbutton control of most if not all parts of
the system. The large control panel offers
automatic control, but local control is necessary for
testing, checking, repairing, or replacing individual
units of components. The local control panels are
necessary for those procedures. A "typical
location" diagram is shown later in this chapter.

TERRIER LAUNCHING SYSTEMS

As we have mentioned before, Terrier systems
have been under development for a number of
years and many changes have resulted. The Mk 10
launching system is the one found on the largest
number of Terrier missile ships, but there are
variations in the mods of this, ranging from Mod 0
to Mod 8. The Terrier Launching System Mk 9 is
installed on three CLGs: USS Providence, USS
Topeka, and USS Springfield.
We will describe the Mk 10 launching system,
pointing out the important differences in mods and
showing where the Mk 4 and the Mk 9 systems are
different.

LOCATION AND ARRANGEMENT
ABOARD SHIP

The location of the components of the Terrier
launching system varies with the type of ship and
the Mk and Mod of the system.

Mark 10 and Mods

On a DLG-26 class destroyer, the launcher of the
Mk 10 Mod 7 system is mounted at the ship
centerline of the 01 level and the feeder system
(magazines, loaders, strike-down equipment) is
located below and aft of the launcher. As shown in
figure 5-3, the Mk 10 Mod 7 Terrier system has
three magazines (ready service rings), two of them
at the upper level and one at a lower level. The one
at the lower level is for auxiliary stowage purposes,
and only Terrier missiles are stowed in it. The
other two magazines can hold Terrier or a mixture
of Terrier and Asroc (fig. 5-3). Each ready service
ring has trays to hold twenty weapons. Because the
Asroc is considerably shorter than the Terrier, it
must be stored with an adapter attached to it. When
an

104

Asroc is fired, the adapter rail is left behind and
must be returned to the ready service ring.
GMLS Mk 10 Mods 0, 5, and 6, has two ready
service rings instead of three, and it does not accept
Asroc missiles. Figure 5-4 shows a Mk 10 Mod 0
system. The launcher is near the aft end of the ship.
Part of the launching system is in the aft deckhouse
(missile house); the magazine area, containing the
ready service rings, is below decks.
The aft deckhouse is divided into two
compartments. The part nearest the launcher is the
strikedown and checkout area, and the other
compartment is the assembly area, with the missile
magazine area directly beneath it. The missiles are
transferred from the magazine area to the assembly
area through the magazine doors (fig. 5-4) by the
hoist. After assembly is completed, the missile is
moved out of the assembly area on a loader r ail
that extends from the magazine door, through the
assembly area and the strikedown and checkout
area, to the blast door. When the blast door is open,
a rail extension connects the loader rail to the guide
arm on the launcher, so the missile can move onto
the launcher. The blast
doors remain closed except during the moment of
actual transfer of a missile to the launcher (or when
unloading the launcher and moving the missile
from the launcher to the magazine).

Mk 9 System

Instead of ready service rings that rotate to bring
the selected missile to the hoist, the Mk 9 system
stores its missiles in individual cells, and (instead
of the hoist) a transfer car moves to the cell that
contains the selected missile. This arrangement is
shown in figure 5-5. The cells are numbered and
identified on the control panel so that any missile
may be selected for transfer from the cell to the
launcher by pushing the correct button on the
launcher control panel. A transfer car, which is part
of the loader, runs athwartships on tracks to the
selected cell, where an extractor beam extracts the
round. As you can see in figure 5-5, there are two
sets of magazines, one next to the assembly area
and another for additional stowage.

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The system is divided longitudinally into two
independent halves, as is the Mk 10 system. The
"A" side equipment is the starboard side and the
"B" side is the port equipment. The two halves
operate simultaneously or separately, each to
supply the launcher arm on its side.
Instead of a loader to move the missile round
from the hoist to the assembly area, the Mk 9
system has a rammer system. The missile round
rides on the rammer rail, which is driven by a
continuous sprocket-driven chain that engages the
booster shoe on the round. The first stage rammer
carries the round to the assembly area and the
second stage rammer takes the round from the
assembly area, after the wings and fins have been
assembled to it, to the launcher. The two stages
have separate and independent hydraulic drives
located in the overhead above the loader rails.
Warmup power is applied to the missile while it is
on the second stage rammer.
Mk 4 Launching System

The Mk 4 launching system is installed on two
CAGs, USS Boston and USS Canberra. At this
writing both ships have been placed in an inactive
status in the reserve fleet so the system will not be
discussed. Figure 5-6 is presented, however, to
show the method of missile stowage in the
magazine.

Control Equipments

Control panels for various parts of the launching
system equipment are shown in figure 5-1, 5-3, 5-
4, and 5-5. Most of them are in the assembly area
of the system, but the power panels usually are
placed as close as possible to the equipment they
supply.
Power panel EP1 and Control Panel EP2 (fig. 5-
4) of the launching system are manned by the
launcher captain. If it is necessary to

106

use EP3 and Dud Jettison panels, a crew member is
assigned. The EP1 panel is the basic power
distribution system for all electrical power to the
launching system. It contains switches, circuit
breakers, fuses, relays, and contractors for the
power and control circuits. The EP2 panel is the
operations control panel for the system. It contains
the switches and relays to select the type of
operation wanted, lights to indicate the phase or
sequence of operation, the position synchros for the
launcher, and the amplifier for the train and
elevation movements of the launcher.

The EP3 panel is primarily a test panel, and is
not manned during normal launching activities.
Various test equipments can be plugged into it, and
it can also be used for local control of the
launching system.

The number and the functions of control panels
vary with the launching system. Some systems
have many more control panels than the three
mentioned above.
So far we have talked only about the control
panels in the launcher-feeder area. Orders for the
operation of these controls must come from a
higher authority. The Weapons Control System
controls all the weapons on the ship, including
missiles, guns, torpedoes, rockets, and depth
charges. It consists of the Weapon Direction
System and one or more Fire Control Systems.
Figure 5-7 shows a specimen weapon control
station with typical equipments. The launcher and
feeder system are controlled by the operator of the
Weapon Assignment Console (WAC). The WAC
operator selects the missile rail to be loaded and the
method of loading (single or continuous), applies
warmup power to the missiles, selects the number
of missiles to be fired per salvo, and assigns the
launcher to a fire control system; or he can cancel
the launcher assignment. These orders are not the
whim of the operator, but are based on the
information supplied to him by the WAC and the
other equipment in the station. The men below
deck can't see the target; they depend on the radars
above deck to locate and track the target, the

107

computer to figure the angle of train and elevation
necessary for the launcher so the missile will
intercept the target, and signals from various
equipments in CIC to transmit decisions and
orders.

THE FEEDER SYSTEM

The feeder systems of the different Terrier
launching systems may be seen in the illustrations
of the launching systems; figures 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, and
5-6. The general arrangement of the magazines, the
assembler, and the launcher may be seen in the
illustrations. The placement of control panels may
be seen in figures 5-3 and 5-4.

Location

When missile systems were first installed on
ships, ships already in service with conventional
firepower were converted for missile use. The
deckhouse was made to house
much of the feeder system. The magazines were
placed below deck as much as possible for
protection of the explosives.
New ships, designed and built to carry missile
systems, provide space below deck for every thing
in the system except the launcher. Figure 5-8
shows the location of launchers and feeder systems
on three types of ships. Figure 5-8A shows the
arrangement on the first ships converted to missile
use-the USS Boston (CAG-1) and the USS
Canberra (CAG-2). Each ship is equipped with
twin launchers, which replace the aft 8- inch gun
turrets. The two automatic vertical missile
launching systems, one for each twin launcher,
provide the means for stowing, handling, and
loading 144 Terrier rounds. Originally designed for
BW missiles, the equipments have been modified
to take BW1 Terriers.
Figure 5-8B shows the arrangement on the
converted light cruisers, the USS Providence
(CLG-6), USS Springfield (CLG- 7), and USS
Topeka (CLG-8). On these ships, much of the
launching equipment is in the deckhouse, mounted
aft,

108

with one twin launcher on the main deck. All of
them have the missiles stowed in horizontal
position.
Most of the ships carrying Terrier missiles are
guided missile destroyers. The first of these, a
converted DD, was the USS Gyatt (DDG-1), from
which many lessons were learned in designing
missile ships. Everything except the launcher is
below deck. The dud jettison unit is mounted to the
deck, but its control panel is below deck, as is the
power supply. Figure 5-8C shows the location of
missile system major components on a destroyer
class ship. All of them use the Mk 10 launching
system, varying in the mods used.
The Navy also has some missile frigates and
these, too, carry the Mk 10 launching system
installation. Carriers, too, have the Mk 10 Terrier
system as part of their missile armament.
Components of Missile Magazine

Of the four major components of the feeder
system, we've already given most attention to the
missile magazine, its type (ready service ring or
cell; vertical or horizontal stowage), and its
location with regard to the launcher on different
ships. Let's turn our attention now to other
components.

POWER SUPPLIES. - You realize that
considerable power is necessary to turn the ready
service ring loaded with large, heavy missiles.
We've mentioned a power panel that supplies
electric power. In figure 5-3, locate the EP1 panel
in the assembly area. In figure 5-4, locate the A
magazine accumulator power drive and the B
magazine accumulator power drive. Where there is
an accumulator, there is hydraulic power. Figure 5-
5 points out the power panels

109

110

for the feeder, the launcher, and another panel in
the transfer area. These panels provide electric
power supplied from the ship's electric power
supply.
Hydraulic power is used to rotate the ready
service rings: (1) to move the tray shift
mechanisms that move the missiles from the trays
in the ready service ring to the hoist; (2) to open
the magazine doors to permit missiles to pass from
the magazine (or return to it); and (3) to operate the
hoist mechanism that carries the missile from the
ready service ring tray to the loader-rail.
The magazine accumulator power supply system
is located on the bulkhead near the ready service
ring booster (aft) bearing assembly (fig. 5-4). The
four accumulators for the system are located on the
ready service ring truss. Separate power supplies
are used for each side (A and B). The accumulator
system supplies hydraulic fluid for operating the
ready service ring drive motor, the tray shift
mechanism, the magazine hoist, the load status
recorder, and the magazine doors. The accumulator
power system consists of the following major
components: electric motor, piston pump, supply
tank, header tank, control valve block, and
accumulators. A conventional B-end hydraulic
motor is used. (See Fluid Power, NavPers 16193-B
for review of hydraulic motors and valve blocks.)
Directional valves control the hydraulic fluid flow
so the ready service ring can be turned clockwise
or counterclockwise as desired. A power-off brake
makes it possible to move the ready service ring
manually, which may be necessary during repair.
In the Mk 9 system, hydraulic fluid and power
are supplied to the first and second stage rammers,
the blast and magazine door mechanisms, and to
the rail operating fixtures such as latches and
positioning pistons. The launcher power panel Mk
180 contains the circuit breakers, contractors, and
overload relays for the launcher power drives. The
Feeder Power Panel Mk 183 contains the circuit
breakers, contactors, and overload relays for the
feeder system motors. They are activated by the
launcher captain at the beginning of operations and
are then left unmanned. They are located in the
after area of the deckhouse.

TRAY-SHIFT MECHANISM. - The ready
service ring rotates to bring the selected missile to
the loading position at the top, but there must be
some means of transferring the missile from the
tray that holds it in the ready service ring. This
device is the tray-shift mechanism. The
tray-shift mechanisms are hydraulic-mechanical
devices (fig. 5-9) that shift the weapon and tray as
a unit, disengaging the weapon shoes from the
ready service ring and engaging them on the hoist.
Two tray-shift mechanisms are mounted on each
ready service ring, one at each transfer station.
Each Terrier has forward and aft shoes by which
the booster is secured in the ready service ring.
Each tray in the ring has three saddles with two
clamp arms that fasten around the missile. When
the tray-shift mechanism positions a tray for the
hoist, the clamps release by opening the arms. The
center and rear saddles have cutouts to receive the
forward and aft hoists, respectively.

HOISTS. - The hoist mechanism can transfer a
booster or a booster-missile combination (complete
round) from the ready service ring trays to the
loader rail (or the reverse when unloading). As
mentioned above, the forward shoe hoist engages
the center saddle and the aft hoist engages the aft
saddle on the tray. Power is supplied by a hydraulic
drive unit and lower transmission and an upper
transmission and drive shaft. As the weapon is
raised to the loader, a guide on the aft hoist head
contacts the overhead trunk and assures alignment.

MISSILE TRANSFER IN MK 9 SYSTEM. - In
the Mk 9 system, with its missiles stored in banks
of fixed individual cells, another method must be
used to get the missile out of its cell and move it to
the assembler. A transfer car which runs
athwartship on tracks carries the missile from its
cell to the loader (rammer). An extractor beam on
the car can be lowered or raised and it can extract a
missile round from a cell or return one to it. After
extracting the missile round, it deposits it on the
overhead loader rail, or it can transfer it to the
checkout area for checkout tests. The last named is
a semiautomatic operation.

INTER-RING TRANSFER. - If the missile
needed is not in the A or B side ready service ring,
it is possible to obtain it from the reserve supply. In
the Mk 10 Mod 7 system (fig. 5-10), this is in the
single lower ready service mechanism. Other Mk
10 mods have two lower ready service rings and
the Mk 9 has a rear bank of cells from missiles.
We've mentioned station 1 in discussing the
tray-shift mechanism (fig. 5-9). In the upper ready
service rings (fig. 5-10), there is a

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station 1 on both the A and the B sides, and
missiles may be transferred to the loader from
those positions. For inter-ring transfer, hoists are
positioned to transfer between station 3 on the
lower ready service ring and station 13 of the B
side upper ready service ring. The other transfer
point is between station 19 on the lower ready
service ring and station 9 of the A side upper ready
service ring.
The Mk 9 system uses the transfer car for this
operation.

The Loader Components

The loader consists of duplicate components for
the A-side and B-side assemblies. It supports and
moves the weapons between the assembly area and
the launcher or between the assembly area and the
strikedown area. Each loader assembly receives a
weapon from the magazine hoist, moves it into
position at the assembler, and then moves it onto
the launcher. It is also
capable of returning individual weapons or
adapters (from Asroc) for restowage, or to the
strikedown area, where they are tested.
Major components of each loader assembly are
the loader trunk assembly and two types of power
drives. The loader trunk is made up of several
sections; a tilting rail (Mod 8 does not have this), a
spanning rail, a blast door, and numerous
operational components (fig. 5-11). The tilting rail
may be latched in the horizontal position or at an
incline. In figure 5-11 it is shown in the horizontal
position as it receives the missile from the hoist. It
is latched in this position to transfer missiles to the
strikedown and checkout area via loader trunk
sections I, II, and III. To move the missile to the
launcher, the tilting rail is tilted up to meet loader
trunk sections VI, VII, and VIII.
The Terrier shoes and the Asroc adapter shoes
slide on rail segments bolted to the underside of the
trunk sections. A sprocket-driven loader chain
travels in the chain track in the

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loader rail. Power is furnished by the CAB- type
power drive located in the overhead adjacent to the
tilting rail.

LOADER PAWL CONTACTOR. - Missile
warmup has been mentioned several times. The
pawl contactor (fig. 5-12), a five-prong electrical
connector, mates with the warmup contactor pad
for Terrier boosters or with the identification
contactor pad on the Asroc adapter rail. When the
aft shoe of the weapon engages the loader pawl, the
contactor is forced onto the booster or adapter rail
pad. The five-pronged contactor completes the
circuitry to the missile. The loader pawl contactor
remains mated until the contactor on the launcher
takes over, so the
warmup is continuous. Vacuum tubes in the missile
must be warmed up to operating temperature, and
gyros must reach a stable spinning speed.

SPANNING RAIL. - The spanning rail (fig. 5-
11) bridges the gap between the loader rail attached
to trunk section No. VIII and the launcher guide
arm. It is operated hydraulically. When the blast
doors open to permit the assembled weapon to pass
onto the launcher, the spanning rail extends to meet
the loader rail and provides a continuous path for
the missile. After the missile has passed through
the blast doors and is on the launcher, the spanning
rail retracts and the blast doors close.
All Mk 10 Terrier systems have a spanning rail
of this type for each launcher. In the Mk 9 system,
the spanning rail is a component of the second
stage rammer and bridges the gap between the
launcher guide rails and the fixed second stage
rammer rail. As the blast doors open, the spanner
rail rotates into position and latches to the launcher
rails. Although the relative position is different in
the Mk 4 system, the operation of the spanner rail
is similar to that of other models.

BLAST DOORS. - The blast doors are blast-
proof and watertight hinged doors that prevent the
entrance of missile blast (when closed) into the
feeder compartment. A pair of doors is mounted on
the exposed bulkhead between each launcher guide
arm (fig. 5-11) and the A- and B-side loaders. The
two doors are mechanically coupled to the
spanning rail, causing the doors to open when the
spanning rail is extended and to close when the
spanning rail is retracted. Interlocks prevent
opening the doors when there is a missile on the
launcher and a condition is set. The position of the
blast doors is different in the Mk 4 system, but the
purpose is the same and the operation is similar to
that of other launching systems.
The second power drive mentioned at the
beginning of the section on the loader is the one
that operates an accumulator-type power drive. It is
located in the strikedown and checkout area. It
supplies hydraulic power to operate the spanning
rail, the blast doors, the tilting rail, the floating
tracks, and the other loader components, such as
latches and positioning pistons. The floating track
mechanisms are located on the tilting rail to engage
the missile shoes, fore and aft. The floating nature
of these rail segments assures positive alignment
between the loader and the hoist.

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The Assembler and Assembly Area

The assembler consists of stowage racks for the
wings and fins that are to be assembled to the
missile in the assembly- area. The older missiles,
the BW type, had to have wings and fins attached,
and fourteen assemblymen were required to man
the assembly area. Only six men are needed for the
BT3 missiles. Figure 5-13 shows the arrangement
of the assembly area in the Mk 10 Mod 7 system,
which also requires sixteen men, though only six
per side (A and B) do the assembly work. It is
located directly above the magazine area. Terrier
booster fins and Asroc motor fins are stowed in the
fin racks, arranged on each side of the loader for
easy access. Each man has a safety foot switch
which he presses after he has completed his portion
of the assembly job and has stepped behind his
safety screen. All six assemblymen must have their
safety switches depressed before the missile can be
moved. If both sides of the launcher are being
loaded, simultaneously, there
are twelve men, each with a safety switch to
depress when he has "finished his work and
assumed a safe position. Some foot switches have
recently been deleted and twelve men are no longer
required in systems with this change.
If the weapon is to be armed, this is done in the
assembly area.
If a missile is being returned to the magazine,
the removable fins are removed and stowed; the
folding fins are folded; and the missile is disarmed
in the assembly area before it is allowed to move
on to the magazine area.

Strikedown and Checkout Equipment

In the strikedown and checkout area, testing and
handling facilities are provided for missile
checkout, maintenance, servicing, warhead
substitution, and booster or rocket inspection. A
checkout car that operates on rails is used when
performing tests, checks, and adjustments. The area
contains: (1) a guided missile test set (AN/DSM-
23), (2) a hydraulic fluid pumping

114

unit (HD-259/DSM) for filling and flushing the
hydraulic system in the missile and for operating
the hydraulic system while testing the missile; (3) a
compressed air supply; (4) radar test sets; (5)
Dynamic Tester Mk 32 and Error Recorder Mk 9,
for testing the computing and recording the results;
(6) an operations event recorder which is a pen-
tape recorder to mark on tape as the missile
checkout is conducted; and (7) a photographic
recorder which automatically photographs dials of
the testers as the missile tests are conducted.
The testing of the missiles is done by other
ratings, but you must transfer the missiles to the
checkout area, and prepare them for the tests, then
return them to the ready service ring. The operator
at the control panel follows the step Control
procedure to bring the missile to the checkout area.
The steps are listed in the proper sequence in the
OP for your equipment.
The checkout cars are also used for inter- ring
transfer of missiles. Strikedown procedure is used,
and the steps listed in sequence in

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your OP must be followed. The Asroc is
transferred without its adapter, but the tray to
which it is transferred must have an adapter in it.
Asrocs cannot be loaded in adjacent trays but must
always have a Terrier or an empty tray between
them. An Asroc with its adapter rail is shown in
figure 5-14. When an Asroc is prepared for
launching, the adapter is removed from the
launcher guide arm after the missile is fired, and is
returned to the tray in the magazine. As it is
returned through the assembly area, the
assemblymen must re-snub the snubbers and check
the electrical cable.

THE LAUNCHER

All Mk 4, Mk 9, and Mk 10 launching systems
use the Mk 5 launcher, but there are different
mods. This means that there are differences but not
great differences.
The launcher is a dual-rail mount that receives,
aims, and fires single rounds or two- round salvos
in accordance with signal orders received from the
weapons system. After launching a weapon (or
weapons), the launcher automatically returns to its
load position, ready to receive the next ordered
weapon or to return a weapon to the feeder for
stowage. If an Asroc -was fired, the launcher must
first return the adapter rail before it is ready to
receive another missile. It is only the Mk 10 Mods
7 and 8 that can handle
Asroc as well as Terrier missiles. The launcher is
Mk 5 Mods 8 and 9. All mods have two guide arms
but there are differences in the degrees of train and
elevation possible. This is due in part to the
location on the ship, for the launcher must never be
pointed where a missile could strike any part of the
ship.

Components

The main components of the launcher are the
stand, carriage, power drive assembly, guide and
guide arms, and the train and elevation system.
(See figure 5-15.) Each of these is composed of
many mechanisms and parts.
STAND. - The stand is a heavy circular steel
weldment flange-mounted to the deck of the ship in
a fixed position. The stand supports the carriage
and the guides.
CARRIAGE. - The carriage is the rotating
portion of the launcher. It is mounted within the
stand. The electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic
equipments for operating the launcher are mounted
in it. The two principal parts of the carriage
structure are the base ring and the trunnion support.
The base ring is bearing mounted in the stand. The
bearings permit horizontal movement in train. The
trunnion support, a box-like weldment, is secured
to the top of the base ring, and is exposed above
the stand. Within it is the trunnion tube which
supports the guides.

116

POWER DRIVE ASSEMBLY. - The power drives
for operation of the launcher are mounted inside
the carriage. Control orders are fed to the power
units from the ship's fire control system.
Power Drive Assembly Mk 46 Mod 1 consists of
two separate electric-hydraulic systems. One
system operates the train system and the other
operates the elevation system. The train and
elevation systems position the weapons for firing
by rotating the carriage (in train) and the guides (in
elevation) as directed by orders from a computer in
the Weapons Control Station (remote control).
Each system operates independently, but they
synchronize their movements to place the weapon
in the desired position for firing. They may be
operated locally from an electrical panel at the
launcher, but this is only for exercise and test, not
for firing.
A third power drive, much smaller than the
others with a small electric motor and an
accumulator, is mounted in the right-hand corner of
the trunnion support and supplies power to the
guide arm components that position and retain the
weapon on the guide arm, provide external warmup
power to the weapon, and arm the booster. An
electrical device ignites the booster.

A hand pump is mounted in the left side of the
carriage to provide a means of operating the guide
arms and the components of the train and elevation
latch in case of power failure or during
maintenance operations.

GUIDE AND GUIDE ARMS. - The launcher
guide consists of two arms, a trunnion tube, a gear
segment called the elevating arc, and a buffer
actuating arm. The A- and B-guide arms are
fastened to opposite ends of the trunnion tube,
which is horizontally mounted through the carriage
trunnion support.
The elevating arc is fastened to the trunnion tube
and is inside the trunnion support. Elevation

117

bearing assemblies located at each end of the
trunnion tube allow the elevation movement of the
guide arms.
The launcher guide arms are movable in two
planes: in the training movement and in the
elevating movement. They rotate with the carriage
in train, and about the trunnions in elevation. The
power is supplied by the train and elevation power
drives.

TRAIN AND ELEVATION SYSTEMS. - The
train and elevation power drives mentioned above
are the main parts of the train and elevation
systems. The elevation arc is one comparatively
small part of the elevation system. Other parts of
this system are the pinion gear (to mesh with the
elevation arc), reduction gear assembly, elevation
brake, latch, positioning valve, latch- control valve
block, elevation and depression buffers, buffer
accumulator, firing cutout mechanism, and
ventilation power unit. The train system has similar
components plus the training circle. The training
circle is a heavy gear mounted in the stand. Figure
5-20 shows the training circle for a Talos; for the
Terrier, the chief difference is in dimensions.
Each system receives and responds
independently to order signals. The principal
function of the receiver-regulator and
servoamplifier in each unit is to convert electrical
order signals into hydraulically powered
mechanical movements. These movements control
the velocity, acceleration, deceleration, and
position of the launcher carriage and the guide
arms.

Dud Jettison Unit

A dud jettison unit is associated with each Mk 5
launcher. Its purpose is to rid the ship of a dud
missile by tossing it overboard from the launcher
without firing the booster. Dud missiles usually are
not jettisoned unless there is danger to the ship and
personnel.
Dud Jettison Unit Mk 108 Mod 0 consists of two
ejectors, mounted to the deck, and a control panel
located below the deck near the launcher support,
One ejector is located on the starboard side of the
launcher and the other on the port side. Figure 5-15
shows the deck appearance of the unit when not in
use. Figure 5-16 shows its mounting in cross
section and its relation to the launcher when
aligned for use.
When it has been determined that a missile must
be jettisoned, the launcher is slewed into position
to align the defective missile with
the dud jettison unit. Launcher control is
transferred to the jettison control panel. The ejector
is a pneumatic cylinder with a disc designed to
engage the after end of the booster nozzle. When
the panel operator positions the handle to jettison
on the control panel, the missile is pushed from the
launcher by a quick thrust of the ejector.

LAUNCHER CONTROL

The launcher is controlled by the following five
methods: remote control, local control, dud jettison
control, load-order control, and test control. These
are also called modes of operation.
Normal operation of the launcher is by remote
control from the Weapons Control Station (fig. 5-
7), by electrical signal through the control panels
there. Remote control is normally used for target
tracking and is also the only method used for
weapon firing.
A local control station is provided in the
launching system for exercise and routine
maintenance. This is also called step control
because each move in the system is activated by
pushing a button on the control panel. Figures 5-3
and 5-13 show the location of a number of the
control panels in the launching system. After the
EP1 power panel is activated, it is not manned. The
launcher captain then stations himself at the EP2
operations panel. During automatic operation, he
monitors the panel, quickly reporting anything that
seems wrong. In step operation, he pushes the
buttons in the required sequence to perform the
loading or unloading operation as needed.
The EP3 panel is primarily the test panel and is
not manned during normal launching activities. It
can also be used for local control.
EP4 and EP5 panels (A-side and B-side) control
assembly, strikedown, checkout, and inter-ring
transfer.
Before the dud-jettison panel can be used, it
must receive an electrical signal from a preset
synchro in the EP 2 panel, which synchronizes the
launcher with the dud jettison units.
Load-order control automatically returns the
launcher to the "Load" position after the weapons
have been fired from both rails. It is provided by
means of an electrical signal from a preset synchro
in the EP2 panel.
The EP3 panel contains the switches and jack
connections necessary to perform tests on the
launcher train and elevation systems.

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Dummy directors, signal generators, oscillographs,
and other test equipment may be plugged into the
EP3 panel. The test order signals originate in the
dummy director. Chapters 13 and 14 describe
testing.

Manual control is possible when all other types
of operation fail, or for installation, maintenance,
and checking purposes. Hydraulic handpumps,
handcranks, and air motors are used, and operation
of the launching system components is quite slow.

We've talked a good deal about control panels in
this chapter. Your quals require you to be familiar
with the work at all stations in the launching
system which includes control panel stations.
Figure 5-17 shows the face of the assembler
control panel which is manned by the assembler
captain. Each button or lamp
is labeled; in automatic control the assembler
captain does not operate the panel but watches the
lights to see that they light up in proper sequence,
so he can notify the launcher captain if anything is
not right. When all the assemblymen have
completed assembly or disassembly and have
depressed their switches, the Wing and Fin
Assemblers Clear light goes on indicating that all is
clear for the weapon to be moved on to the
launcher (or returned to the ready service ring).
The ring of 20 lights represents the 20 spaces in the
ready service ring. The lights are color coded to
indicate the type of missile assigned to each station
in the ready service ring. On the Mk 10 Mods 7
and 8 Launching System there is a second ring of
light to represent the lower service ring, but those
lights do not go on unless there is inter-ring
transfer of weapons. In local control or step
operation, the assembly captain

119

must have before him the step-by-step instructions
for operation of the assembler panel. These are in
the OP for the equipment and should also be posted
beside the panel.
The assembly panel shown in figure 5-17 is a
combination strikedown, checkout, and assembly
captain's control panel. EP4 is the A-side panel,
and EP5 is the B-side panel, identical except for
switch and light designations.

LAUNCHING SYSTEM OPERATION

As modes of operation, automatic control and
step control have been mentioned several times.
With the Mk 10 Mods 7 and 8 launching systems,
we also have to consider the Asroc mode of
operation and the Terrier mode.

Load Orders

Which mode of operation is to be used and
which weapon is to be loaded must be decided
before any launching system operation is
undertaken. Load orders of the following types
may be transmitted from the weapons control
station:
1. Missile order-type of round(s) to be loaded.
2. Load select - simultaneous operation of A and
B sides, or separate operation of either A or B side.
3. Loading order - hold, single, or continuous
loading of the type of missile ordered.
4. Unloading order - unload launcher or unload
assembly area.

If the load order (item 3) is for "single", the
launching system proceeds to load one missile and
then stop until further orders are received. If the
order is for "continuous", the system automatically
continues to bring up missiles of the type ordered
for the launcher, each time the empty loader pawl
returns to the load position in the assembly area. If
both A and B sides are to be loaded, both sides
proceed to load their launcher.

Sequence of Operation in Automatic Mode

At the sounding of General Quarters, the
launching system captain activates the EP1 power

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panel, takes his station at the EP2 panel, sets it up
for" step" operation, starts all motors, and then
turns his ready switch to "Standby." This indicates
to the EP4 and EP5 assembly captains and to the
weapons control station that the launching system
is activated and is at standby.
When the alert signal is given by the weapons
control station, the" Alert" signal light flashes on
the EP2, EP4, and EP5 panels, and an audible alert
signal sounds.
The launching system and assembly captains
signal the weapons control station when their crews
are ready. The weapons control station signals
what type of weapons are to be loaded, and the
missile order signal lights on the EP2 panel.

ASROC MODE OF OPERATION. - If the
signal is for an Asroc weapon (Mods 7 and 8 can
handle Asroc), the launcher captain checks to be
sure everything is clear and that there are no
missiles outside the magazine. Then he presses the
ASROC MODE button on his panel, which
automatically switches the launching system.
When the ASROC MOD E light becomes steady,
the switching is completed and the launcher captain
can press the LOAD button. Only one side can be
used for Asroc loading and loading cannot be
continuous. After a missile leaves the launcher, the
adapter must be returned to the magazine. While
the adapter is in the assembly area on its way back
to the magazine, the fin assemblymen must close
the snubbers and make sure that the umbilical cable
is clear. The hoist then returns the adapter to its
tray in the ready service ring of the magazine.
If another Asroc missile is wanted, another order
is signaled from the weapons control station.

TERRIER MODE OF OPERATION. - On
Mods 7 and 8, the launcher captain must switch to
the Terrier mode after he has received the signal
from the weapons control station that a Terrier
missile is to be loaded. All other Mods handle only
the Terrier, so this switching step is not necessary.
Assuming that the system is activated and on
Automatic, pushing the LOAD button starts the
loading operation. The ready service ring rotates to
bring the designated missile to the hoist station.
Then the tray holding the round shifts to engage the
booster shoes on the hoist. Simultaneously, the
magazine door opens. The hoist raises the round to
the
loader rail. At this point the warmup contactor on
the missile booster engages the electrical connector
on the loader chain pawl and warmup power flows
to the booster. The loader chain moves the round
off the hoist and onto the loader rail, or tilting rail,
which moves it to the assembly area. As soon as
the hoist is free of the round, it lowers, the tray
shifts back to its place in the ready service ring,
and the magazine doors close. The ready service
ring rotates to place another round at the no. 1 hoist
station.

In the assembly area the crewmen attach the
booster fins, erect the missile wings, then take safe
positions and operate the safety foot switches. As
soon as the assembler captain sees (on his control
panel) that all the switches are closed, he positions
his assembly ready switch to ASSEMBLED and
the tilting rail can move on with the assembled
round. As soon as the tilting rail elevates, the blast
doors open, the spanning rail extends and the
loader moves the Terrier onto the launcher rail. The
loader chain pawl and its warmup connector
disengage and retract from the round before the
blast doors close.
The round is rammed onto the launcher where it
is positioned and retained by the launcher
positioning mechanism. Warmup power is applied
through the launcher-booster electrical contactor.
The arming tool extends. The train and elevation
latches retract. As soon as the order is received
from the weapons control station, the launcher
synchronizes to the director signal, moving in train
and elevation until the missile is pointed where
ordered.
With a firing rate of approximately two rounds
per minute, you can see that all the actions must
take place very rapidly and in measured time
sequences. If the wing and fin assemblymen, for
example, were too slow in doing their work, it
would disrupt the loading sequence. The next
missile would have to be held at the no 1 station in
the ready service ring until the way was cleared.

TALOS LAUNCHING SYSTEM

The Guided Missile Launching System Mk 12 is
designed to stow and to launch all types of Talos
missiles. The Mk 12 is made up of three major
groups of equipment. Figure 5-1A shows a
cutaway view of the Mk 12. You can

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see in a general way the three equipment groups
and their physical location in relation to each other.
The names of these groups are:

1. Guided Missile Launcher Mk 7. It serves as a
launching platform for the Talos weapon. The
launcher has two launcher guide arms which can be
trained and elevated to point the missile at a
capture beam.
2. Guided Missile Feeder Mk 11. This group of
equipments provides for weapon stowage, for
missile warmup, and for loading the weapons on
the launcher.
3. Missile Launching System Control Mk 10.
This group of units includes consoles and electrical
devices and circuits to control and to monitor
system operations. Now we shall take up each of
these major equipment groups and explain what
they do. We will use the Mk 12 GMLS to illustrate
how they do it.
MISSILE LAUNCHER Mk 7

The Mk 7 launcher (fig. 5-18) is designed for
installation aboard Talos missile ships. It is an
automatically loaded, remotely controlled, dual-
arm launcher which provides a launching platform
for all types of Talos missiles. 1 We can consider
the structure of the Mk 7 launcher as being made
up of three major components:

1. A launcher stand which is a stationary
structure.
2. A carriage which rotates (trains).
3. A launcher guide which also rotates
(elevates).

The stand is a round metal structure which is
fixed to the deck and forms a permanent
foundation for the launcher. The carriage, which is
bearing mounted on top of the stand, is capable

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of unlimited train. Electric, hydraulic, and
mechanical gearing devices used to rotate the
carriage are mounted directly within it. The
carriage itself is composed of a base ring section
and a trunnion support section.
The major components of the launcher guide are
the trunnion tube and the guide arms. These
components form an H-shaped assembly. The
trunnion tube is a shaft that is common to both
arms and extends through the trunnion's support.
The trunnion support is bearing mounted to the
carriage. Rotation of the trunnion tube elevates and
depresses the guide arms as the elevating arc
moves up or down. Electric, hydraulic, and
mechanical devices necessary for rotating the
trunnion tube are housed within the launcher
carriage.
Again consider the carriage. It houses the power
drives for operation of the launcher. Control orders
are fed to the power drives from a selected fire
control computer. When the launcher is loaded and
assigned to a fire control system, it is controlled by
orders from a remotely located missile fire control
computer. When the launcher is released or when
both rails are empty, launcher control is transferred
from remote control to fixed load order signals
from load control transmitters in the launching
system. Under control of these fixed signals, the
launcher returns to and latches in the load position.
The train and elevation systems are electric-
hydraulic power drives. The train system (fig. 5-
19) rotates the launcher carriage; the elevation
system (fig 5-19) rotates the launcher guide. These
systems operate independently but simultaneously
for synchronized operation of the launcher.
Components of the launcher guide prepare the
missiles for flight, and arm and ignite the booster.
The guide power drive operates the guide
components. It is an accumulator type of hydraulic
unit that operates the arming devices, the warmup
contactors, the aft motion latches, and the
emergency igniter injectors. The booster, as you
learned in chapter 3, is ignited electrically.
The launcher guide components function
independently of the train and elevation systems
but are interlocked with them to ensure proper
loading and safety during firing.
The launcher functions as part of the guided
missile launching system and also as a part of the
fire control system. When empty, the launcher
aligns with its feeder system and is loaded. When
loaded, the launcher is isolated from its feeder and
is under the control of the missile fire control
computer (remote operation).
As the launcher follows a remote signal, its
missiles receive external warmup power to prepare
them for flight. When firing is ordered (upon
closing the firing key) and all conditions (safety
and missile functions) are satisfied, the booster is
armed, the warmup contactor and the arming tool
are retracted, and the weapon is fired by
electrically igniting the booster.
In salvo firing, two weapons are fired from the
launcher with a short time interval between firings.
Only the S-type Talos weapons can be fired in
salvos. Nuclear tipped (W) missiles are fired
singly.
A weapon, as loaded onto the launcher, consists
of a mated missile and booster with wings and fins
installed (and missile arming devices if necessary):
it is in a ready-for-firing condition.

Stand

The stand (fig. 5-20) supports the carriage and
guide. (The carriage and guide, when considered as
a complete unit, are called the rotating structure.)
The stand is a fixed round steel structure attached
to the ship's deck. The carriage, together with the
guide, is free to rotate on the stand.
A large ring-shaped internal gear is mounted
inside the stand. This gear has many names. Some
of these are: training circle, training rack, and train
circle gear. A pinion gear engages the teeth of the
training circle, so that when the pinion gear turns, it
trains the carriage and thus the guide. Bearing
assemblies are mounted in the stand to support the
rotating structure and to reduce friction between
the stand and carriage.
Figure 5-20 shows the major subassemblies of
the launcher stand. A drilled flange on the inside
bottom of the stand is used to bolt it to the ship's
deck. (You won't see the drilled holes in the
illustration because the photograph was taken
before any holes were drilled.) Now locate the
upper thrust bearing assembly, sometimes called
the main thrust bearing. The carriage assembly sits
on top of this assembly. You can see that the entire
weight of the carriage and guide rests on the upper
thrust bearing assembly. At this point you may be
wondering what keeps the launcher from leaving
the stand if vertical movement of the ship pushes
up on the bottom of the carriage, tending to push it
off of the stand. Figure 5-21 gives us a better view
of the train bearing assembly and the method used
to oppose a

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vertical upward thrust (force) on the base of the
carriage. Essentially, the way this is prevented is to
connect the carriage to the stand through a lower
thrust bearing assembly. This arrangement also
reduces frictional forces as the carriage is trained.
The upper and lower bearing assemblies pretty well
restrain the rotating structure in the vertical
direction. But what about in a lateral or horizontal
direction? The radial bearing assembly takes care
of this problem. This assembly prevents lateral
movement between the carriage and stand, and also
decreases frictional forces between the carriage and
stand.
Now look at figure 5-21 again. The big gear with
teeth on its inside face is the training circle. This
gear is classed as an involute gear, an internal ring
gear, or an internal spur gear. A small pinion gear
meshes with the training circle. The pinion gear is
part of the carriage, and is driven by the train
power drive. As the power drive motor rotates in
response to an electrical order from the computer
to move the
launcher, the pinion gear rotates and walks around
the ring gear, carrying the rotating structure
(carriage and guide) With it. Look back at figure 5-
19 and you can see how the pinion gear meshes
with the training circle.

The weather shield and seal (Fig. 5-21) prevent
water or spray from getting into the bearing
assemblies. The shield is metal, and the seal is
synthetic rubber. Both are attached to the carriage.
The shield supports the seal and keeps it pressed
against a smooth surface on the stand. The shield
and seal form continuous rings which rotate as the
carriage turns. Notice that the shield fits into a
groove cut in the outside of the stand. Most of the
water or spray will be kept out of the bearing
assemblies by the shield; the seal is designed to
stop the rest. But don't count on this; seals wear out
or tear, and must be replaced periodically. All
launcher stands, regardless of Mark or Mod, have
the same component assemblies we have covered
here. It is true

125

that these assemblies are different in construction
in various stands, but their function remains the
same. Gun mounts are placed on the same type of
stand; in fact, some missile installations have made
use of the already emplaced stand formerly used
for a gun. The anti-icing units shown in figure 5-20
have pipes that extend to the blast doors up on the
deck at the launcher, through various internal
passages in the launcher, and to emergency igniter
units. All launchers that are exposed on the deck
have anti-icing systems so they will be ice-free and
operable in the most severe weather.

Carriage Assembly

The carriage (see fig. 5-22) is the part of the
launcher that trains. As we said before, the missiles
must be aimed before they are fired. This means
the launcher guide must be trained and elevated to
point the missiles in the right direction. Since the
carriage is trainable, it meets the first aiming
requirement. Later you will see how the missiles
are pointed in elevation by the guide.
The carriage consists of two basic parts: the base
ring, and the trunnion support. The
base ring makes up the lower part of the carriage.
The trunnion support fits on top of the base ring.
The stand and carriage are joined together by the
base ring, and the base ring sits on the stand.
The trunnion support holds up the guide. A long
hollow tube (trunnion tube) is supported in bearing
assemblies of the trunnion support so that the tube
can be elevated and depressed. Attached to each
end of the tube is a guide arm. As the tube is
rotated, the guide arms follow this motion. The
inside surfaces of the carriage provide mountings
for other launcher components. The shell of the
trunnion support protects units in the carriage
assembly from the weather.

Guide Assembly

The guide assembly (fig. 5-23) provides the
platform from which the missile is launched. It
consists of four major parts: trunnion tube, two
guide arms, and the guide power drive. The
trunnion tube is mounted in bearings. A guide arm
is attached to each end of the trunnion tube. An
elevating arc is located at the center of the

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tube. The arc is driven by the elevation power drive
through a pinion gear which meshes with the teeth
in the elevating arc.
GUIDE ARMS. - The guide arms are similar
structures, so we will talk about only the A-arm.
But what we say pertains to the B-arm also.

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The bottom of the arm is flat, and contains the
rails. The weapons are suspended from the rails by
shoes on the booster. At launch the rails provide
guidance for a short distance.

The main operating (moving) parts of the guide
arm (fig. 5-24) are:

1. Guide arm control (not shown in figure 5-24).
2. Aft shoe latching mechanism.
3. Warmup contactor.
4. Firing squib contactors.
5. Arming device.
6. Emergency igniter injector.

Guide Arm Control. - This is an electro-
hydraulic assembly that controls the operation of
the arming device, warmup contactor, and aft shoe
latching mechanism. The emergency igniter
injector has its own control assembly.

Aft Shoe Latching Mechanism. - The aft shoe
latching mechanism (see the simplified diagram in
fig. 5-25 is located at the aft end of the guide arm.
The latching mechanism positions and retains the
weapon on the guide arm by the aft booster shoe.
The latching mechanism consists of two major
parts: a forward motion restraining latch, and a
reverse motion latch. The two latches simply pinch
the aft booster shoe between them. The forward
motion latch prevents the missile
from moving forward until it is ready for
launching. The reverse motion latch prevents the
missile from falling off the rear of the launcher.
During firing, the forward motion latch holds back
the missile booster combination until the booster
has developed enough thrust to overcome the
restraining force of the latch. When this happens,
the latch buckles (trips) and the weapon leaves the
guide arm.
Other missile systems use the same type of
mechanism for the same purpose.

Warmup Contactor. - Another component of the
launcher guide arm, called the warmup contactor,
prepares the missiles for flight. This device is
located in the front of the guide arm. The
expression "prepares the missile for flight" is very
general; so we will explain it. Most Navy surface-
to-air missiles contain some vacuum tubes. As you
know, it takes time for vacuum tubes to heat up and
to reach the temperature at which their operation
becomes stable. To illustrate, it takes your home
vacuum tube radio or TV set 20 or more seconds to
warm up after you turn it on. Of course, a transistor
set is in operating condition almost immediately
after it is turned on. But RIMs are not completely
transistorized, and they will have at least a few
filament type tubes which require a warmup
period.
Warmup power is also required for gyros. All
Navy RIMs have gyros. These units must have
their rotor wheels spinning at a specified number of
revolutions per second to be effective. Otherwise
the gyros will provide inaccurate

129

references or information. If the gyro wheels are
not spinning fast enough, the rotors will wobble.
The warmup voltage is supplied from a source
outside the missile because we don't want to use up
the power source inside the missile. The missile
internal power supply is limited as to how long it
will furnish power, and it would be foolish to use
up any of its energy before flight.
Now back to the contactor. It applies external
warmup electrical power to the missile while the
missile is supported on the launcher guide arm. The
contactor can be extended and retracted. When it is
extended, a series of points on the contactor fit into
a pad on the top rear of the missile. Current then
flows through the contactor-missile connection to
the missile electronic and gyro components.
The warmup contactor also provides an
umbilical connection to pass information back and
forth between the missile and the weapon control
system.
Warmup contactors were mentioned several
times in the discussion of the Terrier system, and
you will also find them mentioned in regard to the
Tartar system. Essentially, they are all electrical
contacts to the ship's electrical system to warm up
gyros and electronic components in the missile and
the booster.

Firing Contactors. - All RIM booster propellants
are ignited electrically and use igniters to start the
propellant burning. Basically, an
igniter (figs. 3-27, 3-29) consists of a charge of
black powder and a small electrical heating
element called a squib. When electricity passes
through the heating element, enough heat is
generated to start the black powder burning. The
flame from the black powder shoots down the
hollow center of the propellant grain and ignites it.
When a missile is on the launcher and the intent
is to fire it, some device is necessary to bridge the
gap between the launcher arm and the missile
booster so the booster igniter firing circuit will
have a circuit from the firing key to the squib.
Look again at figure 5-24. It shows a cutaway view
of the A-arm of the Talos launcher. Notice the
booster firing contacts at the arm's forward end.
These contacts engage similar contacts (called
ignition contacts) on the top of the forward booster
shoes. Electrical wires run from the booster
contacts to the squib electrical heater. Thus when
the firing key is closed, and all other required
circuit closures are made, an electrical circuit is
completed to the squib which ignites the booster
propellant.
Firing circuits are interlocked mechanically and
electrically. This means that certain events must
take place in the weapon system, in the correct
order, before the firing circuit will work. The fact
that the events took place, and in their proper
sequence, is indicated by the operation of electrical
and mechanical devices. You are going to learn
more about interlocking and firing circuit operation
later in this course; but for the present just take our
word that firing circuits are interlocked.

Booster Arming Device. - Another reason for
interlocking firing circuits is for safety. Consider
the booster. Boosters are not ready to fire when
they are stowed in a magazine, or even when they
are first put on the launcher. There is a chance that
they might be accidentally set off. So boosters are
put in a safe condition until immediately before
firing. And how are they made safe? Just by the
simple technique of opening the firing circuit
inside the booster. Generally, the igniter is
mechanically rotated in such a manner that the
squib element's electrical contacts are physically
disconnected from the rest of the firing circuit.
When a missile is to be launched, some device
must be used to move the igniter back into its firing
position. You can see now that another device is
needed to bridge the gap between the launcher arm
and the booster. The

130

launcher we have used as a study example has a
plunger type mechanism in the launcher arms. The
plunger, when it is extended, connects with a
system of levers and gearing in the booster in such
a way as to rotate the igniter assembly into the
proper firing position. This process is called
booster arming.
In case it is decided not to fire the missile, the
booster arming and disarming device can be used
to disarm the booster before it is unloaded and then
placed back into stowage.

Emergency Igniter Injector. - A hydraulically
operated emergency igniter injector is mounted on
the after end of each launcher guide arm, see fig. 5-
23. This device inserts a high-explosive cartridge
into the missile booster. The arrangement of
injector and cartridge permits electrical firing from
the control station when a misfire occurs.

The operation of the emergency igniter injector
is normally controlled by the launcher captain from
the EP2 panel.
The Talos system is the only one that uses this
method of disposing of duds or misfires. Terrier
and Tartar systems use the dud jettisoning device
to place dud or misfire missiles overboard when it
is necessary to dispose of a missile that cannot be
fired from the launcher.

TRAIN AND ELEVATION POWER DRIVES

Two electrohydraulic power drives (fig. 5- 19)
position the launcher. One trains the launcher by
rotating the carriage, and the other elevates the
guide arms by rotating the trunnion tube. Both the
train system and the elevation system receive
orders in the form of electrical signals, and act on
these orders to position the launcher and guide
arms accordingly.

The launcher can be positioned by either of two
methods of control: remote order control, and local
order control. In remote order control, signals are
received from a missile fire control computer.
Local order control is used to position the launcher
from a local station in the launching system.

The train and elevation systems operate in a
similar manner. In most cases they contain the
same operating components. These components,
with the exception of the magnetic amplifiers, are
located within the launcher carriage.
The simplified schematic in figure 5-26 is
provided to promote a general understanding of
how the train drive responds to an input signal.
Only the basic drive components are pictured.
Two channels of control signals are fed to the
drive. One is a position order. This one will be
discussed first. The order is a velocity order.
We will start with the synchro transmitter in the
computer. It transmits a position order to the IXCT
in the receiver regulator of the launcher. The stator
of this CT is geared to the B-end of the hydraulic
transmission. If the launcher is not positioned at the
same bearing as the transmitted order, a voltage is
developed on the rotor of the CT to represent
launcher position error (angular difference between
actual launcher position and ordered launcher
position).
This error voltage is placed on the input
terminals of a magnetic amplifier. The output
position error signal of the amplifier is sent back to
the receiver regulator. Through the receiver
regulator, tilt is applied to the A-end of the
hydraulic transmissions by an amount that
corresponds to the strength of the error voltage.
The receiver regulator, which is primarily a device
to change an electrical input into a corresponding
hydraulic output, is used to obtain the hydraulic
pressure needed to stroke the A-end.
The A-end is driven by an a-c electric motor.
The speed of the B-end rotation, which is governed
by the amount of A-end tilt, is reduced by a gear
reduction unit and applied to a drive pinion to
rotate the carriage.
As the carriage rotates toward the ordered
position, the launcher error, and therefore the error
signal, decreases. When the launcher reaches the
ordered position, the error will no longer exist and
the A-end tilt will be reduced to zero.
Consider the situation where the position order is
not static but is continually changing. This would
be the case when the director is tracking a moving
target. Here, movements of the director must be
followed by the launcher with a minimum of error.
This would be difficult to accomplish with only a
position order channel, because an error would
have to be developed to move the launcher. This
problem is greatly reduced through the use of a
velocity channel as an additional means of stroking
the A-end.
The velocity order is a voltage received from the
computer, which corresponds to the rotational
speed of the director. This signal

131

is amplified by the velocity amplifier, and then sent
to the receiver regulator in the launcher. The
regulator acts on the signal by applying a
proportional amount of tilt to the A-end.

With both channels controlling the launcher
during a dynamic (moving) signal condition, the
position channel is used to reduce the initial error.

The velocity channel is used to maintain rotation
of the carriage so the position error will have little
or no chance to develop. The small amount of
position error that does develop is reduced by the
position channel.
In the interest of simplicity, many refinements of
the train drive system have not as yet been
discussed. These refinements will be discussed
through the remainder of this section which will
deal with power drive refinements.
The refinements include the automatic tracking
cutout system, the firing cutout system, and the
limit stop system. These refinements impose
limitations on the power drives when they respond
to input orders.
The limit stop system restricts launcher
movement to definite established limits, and
prevents launcher components from being
damaged. The system also halts the launcher if it
loses power. The limit stop system is designed with
a lead input which is proportional to launcher
velocity. Therefore, the launcher movement can be
stopped at the established limit regardless of its
speed.

The automatic tracking cutout system works
with the power drive to prevent the launcher from
pointing into areas where a fired missile would hit
the ship's structure, masts, or other parts of the
ship.

The firing cutout system disables the firing
circuit whenever the launcher moves into areas
where a fired missile could cause damage to the
ship structures.

The Terrier and Tartar systems also have these
"refinements" in their train and elevation systems
so the missile cannot be fired into own ship's
structure.

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GUIDED MISSILE LAUNCHER
FEEDER MK 11

Figure 5-1 shows the Launching System Mk 12
of which we have discussed the launcher. All Talos
systems make use of the Mk 7 launcher, and there
has been only one modification, Mod 1. The
launching System Mk 12 Mod 0 and Mk 12 Mod 1
are identical except for the size of the two hoist
magnetic controller panels (they are larger on the
Mod 1) and the arrangement of cabling for the
panels.
If you think about the name of this equipment
group, you can get a picture of its main function. It
simply feeds the missiles to the launcher. Of
course, the feeder has other functions too, but we'll
talk about them later.
Figure 5-27 A shows a pictorial view of the
major units that comprise the Mk 11 feeder; figure
5-27B shows a block diagram of the feeder. Note
that there are three main components; the
magazine, the loader, and the assembler, each with
its components.
The feeder is composed of two separate but
similar parts. One part is associated with the A-arm
of the launcher and the other part is associated with
the launcher's B-arm. The part of the feeder that
provides missiles to the A-arm is called the A-side,
and the part that feeds the B-arm is called the B-
side. (You can tell the side of the launcher or
feeder by the conventional way. Just look in the
direction of missile flight from the launcher or
from the after end of the system, and the A-side is
to your left. The B-side is to your right. This
identification technique works regardless of the
launching system's location on the ship.)
Although each side of the feeder operates
independently, both sides usually work
simultaneously, so that both launcher arms can be
loaded at the same time. Since the A- and B- sides
are almost identical, we shall describe only the A-
side.

Guided Missile Magazine Mk 7

The components in this equipment group
provide the stowage space for the missile- booster
combinations. The magazine equipment also
transfers the missile-booster combinations from
their stowage positions to the loader, and puts them
on it. Figure 5-27A shows the below-deck location
of the magazine. It is placed below deck to prevent
the entry of salt water and spray into the magazine
spaces. Also, this location affords some protection
from enemy gun and missile fire.
The main components of the magazine are:

1. Trays.
2. Tray supports.
3. Hoist and its power drive.
4. Lower buffers.
5. Magazine door and its power drive.
6. Spanner rails.
7. On-hoist power drive.

The magazine (A- and B-sides combined) can
hold 52 missile-booster combinations. Keep in
mind that a combination is a missile and booster'
connected together and handled as a single-unit.
The A-side magazine has 7 layers with space to
stow four weapons at each level. Each weapon is
placed in a long rectangular box called a tray. A
hoist divides the magazine so that two trays are on
either side of the hoist at each level. Vertical rails
guide the hoist as it moves up and down. The
vertical rails are at each end of the hoist. The hoist
is used to raise a weapon and its tray up to the
loader and to return an empty tray to the magazine.
Notice the magazine door that separates the
magazine from the loader. The door is a safety
device. It is a flame and gas seal between the
magazine and the deckhouse. Hoist spanner rails
are linked to the door. When the magazine is
opened, the spanner rails connect with the hoist
vertical guide rails. Thus the spanner rails provide
a vertical extension of the guide rails up to the
loader. In other words, they span the gap between
the magazine and the loader to give the guide rails
a continuous track.
Now that you have a general idea of what units
make up the magazine and what they do, we'll
cover them in more detail.

TRAYS. - A typical tray is shown in figure 5-
28. There are 26 of them in our magazine, one for
each missile-booster combination. Each tray has a
device for locking the weapon in the tray. Also, the
tray is equipped with parts that help transfer the
tray on or off the hoist.
In figure 5-28 you will see four rollers at the
booster end of the tray. These four rollers engage
the associated tray support. The two large rollers
are mounted with their axes horizontal. They
support the booster end of the tray. The two small
rollers prevent the tray from moving back and
forth. At the launcher end of the tray there are only
two large rollers and these support that end. You
can't see them in figure 5-28 but they are similar to
the large rollers at the booster end.

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134

A shoe latch secures the missile-booster
combination to the tray. The latch is inside the tray
at the booster end. The latch is spring loaded and
engages the bottom rear booster shoe. This
prevents the missile from shifting its position
within the tray. A hydraulic actuator on the hoist
releases the latch when a weapon is to be
transferred from the tray. The missile part of the
combination is also secured to the tray. A cinch
belt does this. It is located at the end of the tray that
points in the direction of the launcher. When
ramming action moves the combination forward,
the cinch belt is automatically released. You'll see
this action later when ramming in the tray takes
place.

Now the missile is securely placed in the tray,
but what prevents the trays from falling off their
supports? On the top edge of each
end of a tray is a notch. Latches on the tray
supports fit into these notches (latch receptacles).
This prevents the trays from rolling off the tray
supports. The same type of arrangement is on the
hoist. Both the tray support and the hoist latches
are operated hydraulically. Each tray is kept
latched in place, except during the time it is being
transferred from the tray supports onto the hoist
and from the hoist to the tray supports.

A rack, used for transferring the tray on or off
the hoist, is located at each end of the tray. Pinion
gears located on the tray supports and hoist mesh
with the racks to provide necessary horizontal
movement for affecting tray transfer. As the gears
rotate, the tray moves linearly to transfer the tray to
or from the hoist. These

135

gears are driven by a hydraulic unit on the hoist.
This unit is referred to as the on-hoist power drive
(fig. 5-27A).
Missiles are not particularly rugged, and must be
protected from shock and vibration. So each tray
has a resilient support on which the missile portion
of the combination rests. The resilient support is
composed of hydraulic dampers and mechanical
springs. This device acts like a shock absorber on a
car.

TRAY SUPPORTS. - It takes two tray supports
to hold up a tray, one at the launcher end of the tray
and one at the booster end. Each set of tray
supports holds up two trays. The tray supports are
bolted to the magazine bulkhead. Each support
contains the means for transferring trays to and
from the hoist. Fig. 5-29 shows a tray support. Its
location in the magazine is shown if figure 5-27 A.
The on- hoist drive is coupled to the transfer clutch
to provide a means for moving the trays. When the
on-hoist drive moves, the pinion gears turn. These
gears are meshed with the tray's racks. As the
inboard tray is moved onto the hoist, the outboard
tray is moved to the position originally occupied by
the inboard tray. If you look closely at the right-
hand end of the tray support, you can see the track
in which the tray rollers ride. Similar tracks on the
hoist line up with these, so a tray with or without
its weapon can be taken off the supports.

HOIST. - The hoist (fig. 5-30) spans the length
of the magazine. It is used to move trays up and
down between the loader and the individual levels.
The hoist is guided in its vertical travel by guide
rails (fig. 5-27A). Each end of the hoist is fitted
with rollers to make sure the hoist moves freely up
and down the guide rail. A roller track at each end
of the hoist receives tray rollers. When a tray is slid
over onto the hoist, the tray is latched to the hoist
so it won't falloff.
The hoist itself is latched when it is at the correct
transfer position. This is the position where the
hoist and a selected tray support are in almost
perfect alignment, and a tray can freely move back
and forth between hoist and support. Two locks at
each end of the hoist hold it at the transfer position.
A power drive on the hoist provides hydraulic
power to transfer a tray on and off the hoist, to lock
the hoist to the guide rails, to latch a tray on the
hoist, and to unlatch a missile- booster combination
from the tray.
An electromechanical power drive lowers and
raises the hoist. This drive is not on the hoist, but is
located at the bottom of the magazine (fig. 5-27 A).
Buffers on the hoist and at the base of the
magazine prevent equipment damage when the
hoist reaches either its upper or lower limit of
travel.

MAGAZINE DOOR - AND SPANNER RAILS.
- The door acts as a gastight and flametight seal
between the magazine and the deckhouse space.
(See figs. 5-31 and 5-27 A.) The spanner rails are
not part of the door, but they are linked to it. When
the door is opened, the spanner rails form
extensions of the hoist rails. This permits the

136

hoist to travel through the door opening to the
loader. A hydraulic power drive (fig. 5-27A),
provides the power to open and close the magazine
door.
We have now brought the missile up from the
magazine and are ready to move to the next area
and the next steps in preparing the missile for
firing.

Guided Missile Loader Mk 5

The loader is located in the deckhouse. You can
see the loader in figures 5-1 and 5-27A, and in
figure 5-32. The loader equipment transfers the
weapon from the tray to the launcher.
During the transfer operation a device in the loader
applies warmup power to the missile. The main
components of the loader are:

1. Loader trunk
2. Forward and rear floating tracks
3. Saddle cart
4. Rammer
5. Positioners
6. Warmup contactor
7. Blast doors and span track
8. Power drives

When the hoist raises a weapon to the loader
level, three units put the weapon on the loader

137

trunk. These units are the floating tracks, saddle
cart, and rammer. A power drive pushes the
weapon along the loader trunk and stops it in the
forward part of the deckhouse (the assembly area).
Here, warmup power is applied and wings and fins
are put on the missile. Just fins are attached to the
booster. Then the blast doors are opened and the
weapon is rammed onto the launcher guide arms.
Now let's talk a little more about the principal units
in the loader.

LOADER TRUNK. - This is a long metal
structure composed of sections butted together and
bolted to the underside of I-beams on the overhead
of the deckhouse. The weapon is horizontally
suspended from a rail on the loader. The top set of
shoes on the booster are used to hang the weapon
from the rail. You learned about these shoes in
chapter 3. The forward handling shoe slides in skid
tracks cut in the rail. The after handling shoe is
retained in a saddle cart which also travels in the
rail skid tracks. The cart is connected to a drive
chain. The chain provides the means for moving
the cart and weapon along the loader rail. A
sprocket drives the chain. Connected to the
sprocket is a drive motor. The drive motor is part
of the loader power drive which controls the
movements of the saddle cart and therefore the
weapon.

FLOATING TRACKS. - Two floating tracks,
(fig. 5-32) the magazine end of the loader trunk,
raise the missile out of the tray and place it on the
skid tracks. The floating tracks are designated as
forward and rear to coincide with the forward and
rear booster shoes on the Talos weapon. The tracks
are designated "floating" because they can be
raised and lowered.
When the missile-booster combination is ready
for transfer to the loader, the floating tracks are
lowered. Before the tracks are lowered, the forward
part of the saddle cart is positioned on the rear
floating track and is lowered with it. When the
hoist raises the weapon to transfer it to the loader,
the forward booster shoe projects through slots in
the skid tracks and slots in the forward floating
tracks.
The weapon is not on the loader yet. A rammer
moves the weapon in the direction of the launcher
while the weapon is still in the tray. Now the
forward booster shoe is in the skid tracks and the
rear booster shoe is moved forward onto the saddle
cart.
After the ramming operation, the forward and
rear floating tracks raise. The weapon
is lifted out of the tray. Then the floating tracks are
aligned with the loader trunk and the weapon can
be moved along the loader trunk.

SADDLE CART. - The saddle cart (fig. 5- 33)
rides in the loader skid tracks. Two metal latches
on the cart hold the top rear booster shoe between
them. These latches are called the reverse motion
pawl and the forward motion pawl. The saddle cart
is connected to the loader drive chain and provides
the means of moving the weapon along the loader.

RAMMER. - This is essentially a hydraulically
operated piston which is raised and lowered to
transfer the weapon on to the loader. It pushes the
weapon forward 4 inches, enough to slide it into
receiving slots in the saddle cart and the track.

POSITIONERS. - Two hydraulically operated
devices called positioners are on the loader. One is
at the sprocket housing end of the loader; the other
positioner is near the center of the loader trunk.
Both of them position and lock the saddle cart. The
positioner in the sprocket housing positions and
holds the weapon on the rear floating track. The
other positioner places the saddle cart so that the
warmup contactor can mate with the booster
warmup pad.

WARMUP CONTACTOR. - The warmup
contactor is located near the center of the loader
trunk in area 1 (figs. 5-1 and 5-27). The contactor
applies electrical warmup power to the missile
while the wings and fins are being put on. The
contactor is controlled hydraulically so it Can be
lowered to contact the pad on the booster.

BLAST DOORS AND SPAN TRACK. - There
are two blast doors, one for the A-side and one for
the B-side. Blast doors prevent hot gas and flame
from fired boosters from entering the missile
deckhouse. Of course, they also keep water from
entering. When they are opened, they allow Talos
weapons to be transferred from the loader to the
launcher guide arm. Each blast door is composed
of an upper and lower door. A span track is
attached to the inside face of the upper door.
Both blast doors are mounted in a slanting
bulkhead which forms the end of the deckhouse.
You can get a general idea of what they look like in
figure 5-27. When the doors are opened, the tracks
connect the launcher rails with the

138

loaders. This permits Talos weapons to be loaded
on (or unloaded from) the launcher.

The upper and lower doors are hinged. The
lower door is hinged to the bottom of the frame and
the upper door to the top. Each door is opened and
closed by two hydraulic pistons. The two doors do
not open or close simultaneously, but act in
sequence. The lower door opens first. When it is
fully open, the upper door opens. When closing,
the upper door closes and then the lower. Latches
secure the door in the open or closed position. A
deicing system prevents frozen water or spray from
sealing the doors shut. A power drive on the main
deck near the doors provides the power to operate
the doors.

Guided Missile Assembler

Guided missile assembler is a fancy name for
wing and fin stowage racks. The work done in this
area is like that done in the Terrier assembly area.

139

MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM
CONTROL

A guided missile launching system is made up of
many interrelated parts. All of these parts must
work together as a whole to accomplish the
purpose of the system - in this case, to stow, load,
and fire missile weapons. To perform its mission,
the system goes through a predetermined sequence
of operations. For example, consider briefly how
the loader works during loading. Loader equipment
picks up the weapon from the tray and puts it in the
loader skid tracks and saddle cart. Then the weapon
is moved to the assembly area, where wings and
fins are put on the missile-booster combination.
Now the weapon is completely assembled. It is
then rammed and attached to the launcher. The
hardware that did the loading operation is brought
back (retracted) and put into a position where it
will grab another weapon and prepare to load it on
the launcher. You can see that many events occur
just in this small portion of the loading operation.
Also, these events occur in a set sequence. If the
equipment is working properly, nothing can happen
out of step. But failures occur, and the launching
system senses
them when they happen. For instance, we forgot to
open the blast doors in the above description of a
loading operation. Well, a properly operating
loader won't forget. It has electrical interlock
circuits that indicate when a blast door is open or
shut. If a door is open when it should be shut and
the GMLS is ordered to load a weapon, the system
will not obey the order. And you will agree this is a
logical decision. Since the system as a whole must
make thousands of logical decisions, electrical
circuits have been designed to make them. These
decision- making circuits are part of the system
control. Also, the launching system control
contains circuits that "keep tabs on" (monitor) the
operation of the complete system. When an event
takes place in the system, say the blast doors are
opened, the completion of the event is indicated on
a display panel. Almost every event that happens in
the system is displayed visually on a panel. These
panels are also part of the launching control.

Missile Launching Control Mk 10 consists of
electrical switches, circuit breakers, relays, and
other electrical devices that make up control
circuits. Consoles and power distribution panels are
also included.

140

Types of Control

The missile launcher train and elevation power
drives are controlled through the launching system
control. Also, the system control permits step and
automatic control of the rest of the system. We had
better define what we mean by "step" and automatic
operation.

In step control each individual operation is
started by a switch or pushbutton. In automatic
control each step of an operation is performed
automatically. Once a process has been started,
it follows through without interruption; whereas, in
step control the operation is performed in discrete
steps.

Control Panels

The GMLS Mk 12 has 13 control panels. We are
going to talk briefly about the more important ones.
All of these panels together control, monitor, and
test system operation. Also they provide a means
for distributing electrical power. The location of
these panels is shown in figure 5-34. These are in
areas 1 and 2, or feeder and assembler areas.

POWER PANELS. - Panel EP-1A provides
power distribution for the launcher power drives,
missile warmup power, and electrical power to the
launching system control circuits.
Power panel EP-1B distributes power to the
magazine equipment, loader power drives, and the
anti-icing equipment. The reason for two separate
power distribution panels is that you don't want all
your electrical eggs in one basket.
Launching System Panel EP2 contains switches,
indicators, amplifiers, and relays needed to operate
and control the launcher and feeder. Following are
some of the functions that can be performed
through the EP2 panel:

1. An operator, called the Launcher Captain, can
select the launchers train and elevation signal
source. If you want to control the launcher in train
and elevation from a signal source other than the
computer, you just throw a switch on the face of
the EP2 panel to the appropriate position. You
would do this if you wanted to test how well the
launcher power drives were operating.

2. There are many lights on this panel. Some are
red, some are green, and others are amber when
lighted. A red indicator light might indicate there is
a casualty in a hydraulic system, or that an electric
motor is stopped. A green indicator light shows
that a motor: is running. An amber indicator light
might glow to show that a launcher rail has a
missile on it and what type of Talos missile. A
series of lights is used to monitor the movements of
a missile as it flows through the launching system.

3. By throwing the right switches you can start
electric motors as you need them. Under certain
conditions you don't need all of them running at the
same time, so independent start control is provided.

141

4. The launcher captain can select one of several
ways of operating the system. With switches he can
put the system in the load method of control. In this
operation the system takes a missile out of the
magazine and puts it on the launcher. Sometimes it
is necessary to remove a missile from the launcher.
By throwing switches, this unloading operation is
started. Then the system takes the missile off the
launcher.

TEST PANEL EP3. - This panel contains
switches, synchros, and jack plug connections to
perform complete tests on the launcher power
drives and to operate the launcher in local control.
Dummy directors, signal generators, recorders, and
other test equipment may be plugged into the panel
to conduct tests.
ASSEMBLER PANELS. - Panel EP4 contains
switches, relays, and indicators for monitoring and
controlling the operation of the A-side of the
assembler. EP5 panel is identical to, and has the
same function as EP4 except that it controls the B-
side of the assembler.

MAGAZINE PANELS. - EP6 panel provides for
monitoring and controlling the" A" magazine
mechanisms while in step control. Magazine Panel
EP7 is the same as EP6 except that it controls the
B-side magazine.

RELAY PANEL EP8. -This panel contains
relays associated with launching system control.

142

LOCAL CONTROL PANELS.-EP9 panel
contains the equipment for the local control
operation of the A-side loader power drive. The
loader can be operated at variable speeds through
controls on this panel. Panel EP10 is identical to
Panel EP9 except for the fact that it controls the B-
side loader power drive. Local Control Panel EP11
contains the equipment for local control operation
of the A-side magazine hoist drive. The velocity
and movement of the hoist can be controlled
through this panel. Panel. Panel EP12 is identical
to the EP11 except that it controls the B-side
magazine hoist drive.

LAUNCHING SYSTEM FUNCTIONING

Now let's follow the functioning cycle of the Mk
12 launching system as it fires a round. Except for
installing wings and fins, the cycle is completely
automatic.
We begin the firing cycle when the weapon
control station (WCS) gives the order for system
alert followed by a load launcher order. The wing
and fin assembly operators (12 of them) are alerted
and the decision is made in WCS as to whether the
first load to be put on the launcher is a double- or a
single-rail loading and, when a single-rail loading
is chosen, which side (A or B) is to be used. The
launcher area is checked to see if it is clear, and the
load launcher switch is moved to the load position.
The WCS also selects the type of missile to be
fired.
When the load order is given, the magazine hoist
automatically indexes (moves up or down) to the
selected tray position and removes around and its
tray. With the round and tray on the hoist, the hoist
moves upward to the standby position. The
magazine doors open and the hoist rail spanner
sections rotate to align with the hoist rail. The
magazine hoist raises the round in the tray from the
standby position to the load position, and the
floating section of the loader rail lowers. The
rammer retracts, engaging the aft booster handling
(upper) shoes, and the missile unlatching actuator
is extended, causing the shoe latch to retract. When
the shoe latch has retracted, the rammer moves the
round four inches, and the top booster shoes
engage the floating rail portion to the loader track.
As the missile-booster combination is moved
forward by the rammer, the cinch belt (fig. 5-28)
which holds the missile to the forward end of the
tray is released automatically. The missile
unlatching actuator retracts, and the floating rail
elevates the round to the loader rail, about 2 inches.
When the floating rail has fully elevated and
latched, the hoist lowers the empty tray into the
magazine, the hoist rail spanner sections retract, the
magazine doors close, the loader moves the round
to the wing and fin assembly area (area 1), and the
loader chain positioner locks the chain. The empty
magazine tray is returned by the hoist to the
stowage position, and the hoist returns directly to a
standby condition, or it selects another round when
ordered, and then returns to the standby position
until the next cycle.
When the weapon arrives at the wing and fin
assembly area, the positioner latches, and the
electrical contactor extends to start missile
warmup. When the magazine doors are closed, the
blast door may be opened. However, normally the
blast door opening is delayed for five seconds by a
time delay relay, thus making sure that the door is
open a minimum amount of time. Interlocks insure
that the launcher is in the load position before the
blast. doors open. The lower blast doors open first,
and the upper doors and spanner rails raise and
latch into the launcher rail, forming an inline
extension of the launcher loader (feeder) rail
system. Wing and fin installation (this operation
should require a maximum of ten seconds) is
completed, the arming plug installed, and 12
operators actuate their individual safety (hand)
switches, indicating that each operator is clear of
the round. External warmup power is removed, the
missile switches to internal power, the electrical
contactor retracts, the assembly area positioner
retracts, and the round moves onto the launcher.
As the round reaches the launcher, the reverse
motion latch extends and, when it is fully extended,
the loader saddle cart returns to a position above
the magazine, and the launcher electrical contactor
extends. After the contactor is in place, missile
internal power is removed and external power is
again applied to the missile. The contactor also
completes circuits for missile identification and
type of warhead indication. As the loader saddle
cart retracts past the upper blast door, the blast
doors close. When the upper blast door is clear of
the launcher, the train and elevation latches retract,
and the launcher remains at the load position
awaiting assignment; or it synchronizes with the
launcher order signals from the computer if these
signals are present (assignment has been made).
After assignment has been made, the launcher
trains and elevates to the firing position. The
missile may now be fired by the WCS. The first
loading operation requires approximately 57
seconds.

143

Subsequent salvos usually require less time. The
exact time varies with the location of the missile
required.

TARTAR LAUNCHING SYSTEM

The Tartar missile launching systems are
installed on guided missile destroyers. Tartar
missiles are also used as backup missiles for the
Talos systems aboard heavy cruisers. The Tartar
Mk 11 launching system is used on DD3- and CG-
class ships. This system has a two-arm launcher
located over two rings of vertically stowed
missiles. The Mk 13 launching system is used on
small ships. It has a single launcher guide arm that
loads in the vertical position. The missiles are
stowed vertically in two rotatable ready service
rings.
Tartar Launching System Mk 22 was developed
for use on small ships where space and weight
allowances were too limited to permit the use of
the Mk 11 or the Mk 13 system. The Mk 22 system
was designed to replace a 5"/54 gun mount. A
single ready-service ring is located directly below
the launcher with the missiles stowed vertically.
The main components of the Tartar launching
system are the launcher, the missile magazine, and
the missile launching control system. As Tartar
missiles are completely assembled before stowage,
and the folded tail surfaces are erected
automatically after the missile is on the launcher,
there is no need for an assembler. This also
eliminates the space for the control panels, which
have to be placed outside the launching system.
Figure 5-35 shows the Mk 11 launching system.
The launcher and magazine require no operating
personnel; three men are required for the control
panels.
During automatic operation, the launching
system control initiates and controls the loading
cycle, but the launcher is positioned and the missile
is fired by the ship's fire control system

LAUNCHER

The Mk 11 launching system uses Launcher Mk
8, Mods 0, 1, and 3. The Mk 13 launching system
uses Launcher Mk 116 Mod 0. Launching System
Mk 22 uses Launcher 123 Mod 0. Figure 5-35
shows the Mk 8 launcher in the vertical position
with a missile on each guide arm, before the
launcher is trained and elevated to the correct
launching position as ordered by the fire control
system on the ship.
Guided Missile Launcher Mk 8 Mod 0

The missile launcher consists of a dual- arm
launching guide, a rotating carriage with trunnions,
a supporting stand structure, and a combination
electric and hydraulic slipring assembly. The
general layout is much like that of a gun mount.
Both guide arms can be loaded from either the
inner or outer ring of the magazine. The two arms
are similar in construction, except for right- and
left-hand parts. The launcher is remotely controlled
by Missile Launching System Control Mk 9 Mod
0.
The major components of the launcher are the
stand, the carriage, the missile launcher arms or
guides, and the slipring assembly. The train and
elevation power drives are components of the
carriage.
The stand assembly includes a stationary
training rack and hydraulic and mechanical
components required to rotate and index the
magazine cover.
The carriage is bearing mounted in the stand, is
capable of unlimited train in either direction, and
supports the bearing-mounted torque tube. Besides
the carriage structure, the carriage assembly
includes a hydraulic system, train and elevation
power drives with associated control equipment,
latches and securing pins, and the blast door
operating mechanisms.
The train and elevation power drives are
independent hydraulic drives each with its own
electric motor. The pinion of the train power drive
meshes with the stationary training rack of the
stand and rotates to move the carriage in train. The
pinion of the elevation power drive meshes with
the gear of the elevation segment to rotate the
torque tube in elevation.
The missile launcher includes the torque tube
assembly, two guide arms, and a guide hydraulic
system. The guide arms can extend for outer
magazine loading and retract for inner ring loading.
Launcher firing is always accomplished from the
retracted position; dud jettisoning is always
accomplished from the extended position. Each
guide arm includes a missile ramming mechanism"
Each rammer is a hydraulically operated chain
hoist that can be extended into the magazine cells
to hoist a missile to the arm. The rammer
mechanism includes a hand drive for manual
operation in the event of failure of hydraulic
pressure.
Each guide arm incorporates a front, center, and
rear guide. During loading or unloading, the
missiles ride on a continuous rail from the
magazine to the guide arm, composed of rails

144

in the magazine cell, a segment of rail on the
underside of the blast door, and the three guides on
the guide arm. The rear guide extends and latches
to the blast door when the door is opened. It is
extended to latch to the transfer dolly during
transfer operations. In automatic loading the rear
guide remains extended until the missile is within a
few inches of final rammed position. At this point
the rear guide retracts and connects an electrical
connector from the launcher to the missile. The
rear guide incorporates four fin erectors for
erecting the missile fins.
The slipring assembly is located on the vertical
centerline of the launcher. The assembly transfers
electrical power and signals, as well as hydraulic
pressure and anti-icing circulating fluid between
the rotating launcher and fixed structure of the
missile launching system,
You will recognize many of the launcher parts
which have the same names as in the Terrier and
Talos systems. Some new names here are plenum
and plenum vent, magazine cover, and fin erector.
They are only on the Tartar system. The plenum
and plenum vent

145

are part of the safety system to carry off dangerous
fumes in case of an accidental firing in the
magazine.

Guided Missile Launcher Mk 116 Mod 0

This is the launcher used with the Mk 13 Tartar
launching system. As you have seen in figure 5-2,
it has but one guide arm for firing missiles.
However, it can fire at a rapid rate. The missile
magazine is directly beneath, and it holds 40
missiles, stowed in two concentric circles, called
the ready service rings. The ready service rings can
be indexed to the position beneath the blast door,
ready for hoisting. The launcher can be positioned
over either ready service ring.
The launcher assembly consists of the carriage
and guide. A base ring and two trunnion supports
form the structural units of the carriage (fig. 5-36).
The blast door is part of the base ring. It opens only
when a missile is being transferred from the
magazine to the guide arm or is being put into the
magazine. The carriage rotates (trains) and the
guide pivots (elevates) to bring the missile into the
ordered fire position. The missile is held on the
guide arm by the retractable rail.
Mounted on the underside of the base ring are a
power unit, cables, piping, and mechanical parts
for electrical, hydraulic, and anti-icing functions,
Inside the trunnion supports are cables, piping, and
connections to supply the guide arm. In the
righthand trunnion are the final drive components
which include a chain-and-sprocket drive, a pinion,
and a sector gear (elevation arc).

Mk 123 Launcher

The Mk 123 Mod 0 launcher is used with the Mk
22 Mod 0 launching system. It has a single guide
arm, which is identical to the guide arm of the Mk
13 system. The base ring, on which the launcher is
mounted, rotates to position the launcher over the
selected missile in its cell. Within the carriage are
the train/hoist and elevation power drives, a center
column, service platform, train and elevation fluid
supply tanks, and the hoist. The trunnion supports
are on top of the base ring. The ship's ventilation
system is used in the carriage to keep the air
circulating.
The train/hoist power drive has a single electric
motor-driven hydraulic transmission with separate
controls and gear reducers for either training the
launcher or driving the hoist chain.
The train/hoist system and the elevation system
each have a receiver-regulator with a
servoamplifier. Each system has an electric motor
coupled to a variable-stroke hydraulic pump (A-
end) which drives a fixed-stroke hydraulic motor
(B-end). Each system has a power-off brake and
associated mechanical drive trains.

MAGAZINES

All Tartar magazines are directly beneath the
launcher, and stow the missiles in the vertical
position. The following discussion points out
differences in the magazines used with the different
launching systems.

Magazine Mk 6 Mod 0

The ready-service missile magazine has 42
missile compartments arranged in two concentric
rings. The outer ring contains 24 and the inner ring
18 compartments or cells. A set of two rails in each
cell fits lugs on the missile to hold the missile in
the cell. Latches secure the lower lugs. The
individual cells are parts of the magazine and
plenum structure.
The missile cells are closed at the top by a
rotating cover, fitted with two inner and two outer
blast doors. Each diametrically opposite pair of
doors aligns with either an inner or outer ring.
Operation of the magazine cover is automatic but
independent of the launcher. The cover operating
mechanism is driven by hydraulic pressure
supplied by an auxiliary power unit in the
magazine. This auxiliary power unit also supplies
hydraulic pressure to operate the missile latches.
Components of the magazine control the
application of warmup power to the missiles in the
cells. The magazine includes a ventilating system,
a sprinkling system to cool overheated missiles, an
anti-icing system. and a CO
2
system for fire
protection. The magazine has a flame barrier to
isolate the missiles, and arrangements for safe
collection and exhaust of resulting propellant gases
if a missile ignites in its cell. This arrangement
consists of the plenum chamber and plenum vent,
shown in figure 5-35 and described later in this
chapter.

Magazine Mk 8 Mod 0

The construction of the Mk 8 magazine, used in
the Mk 13 launching system, is similar to the Mk 6,
but is smaller since it serves only one launcher
arm. The ready service rings, in two

146

concentric circles, hold 40 missiles. In operation,
the ready service ring rotates between the outer
shell of the magazine and the inner structure to
position the missiles at the hoist station for loading
into the launcher. Each ring of missiles has a
retractable rail just above the ready service ring.
During the hoist cycle, the retractable rail extends
and serves as a guide for the hoist chain and
missile shoes. The magazine power supply, located
in the inner structure of the magazine,
rotates the ready service ring to the selected
position, and drives (raises or lowers) the hoist.

Magazine Mk 9 Mod 0

The magazine for the Mk 22 launching system
has a fixed single ring of 16 missiles. Instead of
moving the selected missile to position beneath the
blast door, the cover (mounting the launcher)

147

is rotated until the blast door is directly above the
selected missile, and then the hoist raises it to the
launcher.

Associated Equipment

Some of the associated equipment in the
launching system for the Tartar missile has been
mentioned in the course of the discussion thus far.

WARMUP. - Warmup power is applied to the
missiles while in the magazine, so the electronic
tubes will be ready to operate when the missile is
launched. The main components carrying the
warmup power supply to the missile are the
warmup contactors and the electrical contact -ring.
As each missile is loaded into the magazine during
strikedown, a warmup contactor in the cell enters a
socket in the missile, establishing the circuit
through which power will be applied when the
missile is being readied to fire.

PLENUM CHAMBER. - Under the space or cell
for each missile in the magazine is a space called
the plenum chamber. If a missile should
accidentally be ignited while in the magazine, the
plenum chamber receives the exhaust gases and
conducts them to the plenum vent to escape to the
atmosphere. No matter where the missile is stowed,
there is always a plenum compartment beneath it.
Each compartment has a blow-in plate. Near the
top of the magazine are four blowout plates, which
release if pressure in the magazine builds up too
much.

WATER INJECTOR. - Another system used
only in the Tartar launching system is that of
injectors. A total of 96 injectors are used, inserted
into the base of the stand. Each injector is a
standpipe threaded into the base, and a water
injection detector nozzle. If a missile were
accidentally ignited in the magazine, only the
injector located under the missile will actuate to
douse the ignited one. There is also a sprinkler
system in the magazine to shower down water from
above.

DUD JETTISON. - The dud jettison device used
with the Mk 11 launching system is similar to that
used with Terrier missiles. On the Mk 13 and Mk
22, however, the jettison mechanism is on the
launcher arm, and can be operated by remote
control from the EP2 panel.
CARBON DIOXIDE SYSTEMS. - An
additional means of fire protection provided in the
Tartar launching systems is carbon dioxide,
supplied by two independent systems. One system
protects the area where the missiles are stowed and
the other protects the inner or center compartment
of the magazine where the power units, receiver-
regulators, and electrical units and cables are
mounted. The carbon dioxide is supplied from
pressurized cylinders of liquid carbon dioxide,
secured in an off-mount location. Heat-sensing
devices in the magazine detect overheating when a
rapid rise in temperature causes the system to
activate. Normal changes in temperature do not
cause tripping of the actuating levers. Release of
the carbon dioxide rapidly vaporizes it and it
spreads all through the magazine and reduces the
temperature rapidly and smothers any fire.

WARNING. - Although carbon dioxide is not
poisonous to breathe, it shuts off all supply of
oxygen and quickly smothers all oxygen-breathing
life. Observe the precautions posted in and on the
magazines wherever carbon dioxide is used.

ANTI-ICING SYSTEMS. -Anti-icing equipment
is not unique to the Tartar launching system;
Terrier and Talos launchers are similarly equipped
to ensure operation of the launcher under low
temperature conditions. Pipe lines for the
circulation of heated fluid are attached to the
launcher and exposed portions of the magazine,
such as the blast doors. The anti-icing fluid is
pumped from a reservoir tank heated by the ship's
steam system.

LAUNCHING SYSTEM CONTROL PANELS

The compactness of the Tartar launching system
installation leaves no room for the control panels
and therefore they must be mounted nearby. Figure
5-37 shows the location of the control panels for
the Mk 11 launching system. The control panels for
the Mk 13 and the Mk 22 systems are similarly
located in a control station off mount but as near as
possible to the launcher and magazine.

Missile Launching System Control
Mk 9 Mod 0

The missile launching system control (fig. 5-37)
regulates and directs operation of the missile
launching system. The power distribution panel
(EP1) controls the ship power inputs to

148

the missile launching system. The loader control
panel (EP2) controls the movement of missiles
between the magazine and the launcher guide arm.
The launcher control panel (EP3) controls the
launcher in loading, unloading, transfer, exercise,
firing, and jettisoning. The local control panel
(EP5) trains and elevates the launcher manually
and displays an error indication to the launching
system captain.
The magazine loading indicator (IP1), shows
whether cells are loaded, if the warmup power is
on, and if the missiles are latched or unlatched in
their cells.

Control System Mk 13 Mod 0

The Mk 13 Mod 0 launching system has three
remotely located control panels that are the control
centers for the electrical circuitry. The EP1 panel is
the basic distribution panel for all electrical power
for the launching system.
It contains circuit breakers, contactors, overload
relays, fuses, switches, etc., for the electric motors
and the supply circuits.
The EP2 panel is the operation control panel for
the launching system and is manned by the
launcher captain. It contains the switches and
relays to select and control the type of operation,
the lights to indicate the phase or sequence of
operation, synchros for launcher load, dud jettison,
strikedown and checkout positions, and amplifier
and error meters for train and elevation.
The EP3 panel is primarily a test panel and is not
manned during normal automatic operation. The
launcher can be operated in local control from this
panel and it contains the switches and jack plugs to
perform tests on the launcher train and elevation
systems.

Control System Mk 21 Mod 0

The control station of the Mk 22 Tartar
launching system also has three control panels:
EP1,

149

EP2. and EP3. These have the same functions as
the comparable panels in the Mk 13 system.

LAUNCHING SYSTEM FUNCTIONING


In automatic operation, the launcher guide arms
are elevated to vertical position and the launcher is
rotated to position the arms over the selected
missile compartments. A chain hoist rammer on
each guide arm extracts a missile from the
magazine compartment and raises the missile to the
arm. On the arm, the folded tail surfaces of the
missile open automatically, and connections are
made automatically to transfer warmup power and
control information to the missile, arm the missile,
and complete the firing circuit.
In continuous operation the system is capable of
firing a salvo every 20 seconds. Although ordinary
operation is automatic, the system can be operated
in manual step control. Safety and other interlocks
ensure proper sequence of operation. The launcher
and magazine require no operating personnel. The
launching system control requires three men. Dud
jettisoning units. one for each guide arm, are
installed adjacent to the launcher. Auxiliary
equipment provides for checkout, strikedown, and
servicing of the missiles. The system, excluding
missiles and auxiliary equipment, weighs
approximately 66 tons.


Like the Mk 11 launching system, the Mk 13
launching system can be operated in automatic or
in step control. Automatic control, with orders
coming from the weapons control station, is
normally used for firing procedures, while step
control is used for exercise, strikedown, and
checkout procedures. Automatic control may also
be used for unloading the missiles. Except for the
fact that there is only one guide on the launcher,
the steps in the loading and launching operation
match those in the Mk 11 system. It has the same
system, unique for the Tartar, for automatic
erection of the fins on the missile after it is on the
guide. When the missile is to be returned to the
magazine, the fins must be folded before it can
pass through the blast doors. The fins are folded by
sending a crewman out on the launcher to do it;
they are not folded automatically.

A major difference between the Mk 13 and the
Mk 22 is that the magazine structure of the Mk 22
is nonrotating, and the launcher is the rotating part.
The launcher is positioned over the cell of the
selected missile, which is then hoisted to the guide,
and the launcher trains and elevates to the position
ordered by the weapons control station. Operation
can be automatic from the weapons control station
or in step control from the control panels near the
launcher, The launcher is activated from the EP1
power panel, and then it can be operated in
automatic or step control.

SAFETY

The primary reason for the vast amount of
information available on the subject of safety
precautions is simply the desire to prevent
accidents. Research has shown that a majority of
all accidents come about through sheer
carelessness. Not only is there a loss of time
involved in an accident, but also there is an
accompanying loss of either equipment, material,
or, in the extreme case, life itself. Aside from these
important considerations, there is a vast amount of
money wasted in replacing damaged equipment,
making investigations, paying for hospitalization or
funerals, and for man-hours not worked during
convalescence. These are but a few of the problems
faced every day by the Navy because personnel fail
to heed the posted and required safety precautions.
Practical safety features are incorporated into
Navy equipment to eliminate potential hazards to
personnel. Since familiarity with equipment leads
to carelessness, observation of all safety notices
and rules is mandatory. NO RELAXATION OF
VIGILANCE SHALL EVER BE PERMITTED,
All personnel taking part in and observing
operation of power equipment shall remain alert,
keep clear of moving parts, and be thoroughly
familiar with the safety precautions applicable to
that equipment. At no time will skylarking be
allowed in the vicinity of operating power
equipment.
The following summary of safety precautions is
intended to be general in nature but their
importance should not be misunderstood.

Do not service or adjust live equipment without
the presence of another person capable of rendering
first aid.

150

Never measure potentials over 600 volts by
means of flexible test leads.
Do not tamper with interlocks or any other
equipment safety feature.
If possible, use only one hand when working on
live circuits.
Never use electrical or electronic equipment
known to be in poor condition.
Do not allow unqualified personnel to operate
the control panels. Trainees or other persons
undergoing instructions shall operate only under
the strict supervision of a qualified and responsible
operator.
Except for General Quarters, always sound the
train warning bell and get an all-clear signal before
training and/or elevating the launcher (before each
time the equipment is to be moved); likewise sound
the loading horn before moving any of the feeder
components (before each time equipment is to be
moved).
Whenever any motion of a power drive unit is
capable of inflicting injury to personnel or
material, not continuously visible to the person
controlling such motion, the officer or petty officer
authorizing the unit to be moved by power shall
insure a safety watch. The safety watch shall be
omitted in general quarters, but must be maintained
in areas where such injury is possible, both inside
and outside the unit being moved. There shall be
telephone or other effective voice communication
established
and maintained between the station controlling the
unit and the safety watch.
Do not enter the train circle when the launcher
train motor is running.
Do not load a live round for a nonfiring exercise.
Be sure that all personnel are located in safe
areas before proceeding with such operations as
extending or retracting a loader chain (when
loaded), opening or closing either the blast doors or
magazine doors, indexing a ready service ring, and
transferring missile-boosters.
Do not enter a magazine while loading or
unloading procedures are under way.
Be thoroughly familiar with all posted safety
precautions and those listed in the OP pertaining to
the equipment to which you are assigned.

SUMMARY

As you study the different missile systems you
will notice that many of the mechanisms and the
electrical and electronic components are the same
and operate in the same manner. Not that knowing
one system means you know them all, for there are
differences, but by making comparisons and noting
the ways in which systems are different, you will
find it easier to understand the operation of the
several systems.

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CHAPTER 6

A TYPICAL GUN AND MISSILE WEAPONS SYSTEM

This chapter will give you a brief overview of a
typical gun and missile weapons system. The
system described here is made up of elements that
have been taken from Terrier and Tartar system. It
illustrates the typical composition and functioning
of gun and/or missile weapons systems (not
including all weapons, such as depth charges,
bombs, etc.). And it will provide the background
that will lead to a better understanding of the
system you have aboard ship.

WEAPONS SYSTEM CONCEPT

You have already studied the fundamental fire
control problem. Now you will study some of the
equipment used to solve that problem.
The effective use of any weapon requires that a
destructive device (containing an explosive) be
delivered to a target-usually a moving target. To
deliver the weapon accurately, we must know both
the location and the velocity of the target. Most
targets now travel faster than sound, and must
therefore be engaged at great distances. Against
such targets, a weapon is most effective when it is
used as part of a weapons system. A weapons
system is the combination of a weapon (or multiple
weapons) and the equipment used to bring their
destructive power against an enemy.
A weapons system includes:

1. Units that detect, locate, and identify the
target.

2. Units that direct or aim a delivery unit.

3. Units that deliver or initiate delivery of the
weapon to the target.

4. Units that will destroy the target when in
contact with it or near it. These units are usually
termed weapons. Figure 6-1 illustrates these units
and groups of units that make up a weapons
system.
DETECTING UNITS

The first steps in using a weapons system and
solving the fire control problem are to detect,
locate, and identify the target. Initial contact with a
surface or airborne target may be visual, or it may
be made by radar. It is difficult to detect a target
visually at long range, or even at short range when
visibility is poor. For that reason, targets are
usually detected by search radar. Search radars, as
you know, keep a large volume of space around
your ship under continuous watch. They give the
ship fairly accurate information about the target's
position, even when the target is hidden by fog or
darkness. To determine a target's position we must
know its range, its direction from the ship, and, for
an airborne target, its elevation. Radar gives all
three of these coordinates. (Radar has certain
disadvantages, too. For example, it can be detected
by an enemy at about four times the range at which
it can pick up an enemy target.)
Optical devices are used as a supplementary
source of information on slow-moving targets at
relatively short range. They are useless against
missiles or jet aircraft, which must be engaged
while they are still beyond the range of optical
instruments.
After we have detected and located a target, we
must identify it. How can we identify a target that
may be several hundred miles from our ship? The
answer lies in a device called IFF (Identification,
Friend or Foe). See Figure 6-1. Radar alone cannot
tell the difference between friendly or enemy
targets. But the IFF equipment can challenge an
unidentified target, and determine from the answer
whether the target is friendly. The equipment
consists of two major units - the challenging unit
which asks the question, "friend or foe," and the
transponder which answers the question. IFF
equipment is used in conjunction with search radar,
and sometimes fire control radar. Briefly, this is
how it works. To challenge a target you press a
switch attached

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CHAPTER 6 - A TYPICAL GUN AND MISSILE WEAPONS SYSTEM

to the radar. The transmitter will then send out a
pulse of low power radio energy toward the target.
If the target is friendly it will carry a transponder,
which consists of a receiver and a transmitter.
When the receiver picks up a challenge, it causes
the transmitter to send out an answering pulse or
pulses. The answer is usually a coded message. It is
picked up by the challenging unit's receiver and
sent to the indicator of the search radar. An enemy
target will not know the code and therefore will not
be able to answer the challenge.

CONTROL UNITS

Control units in a weapons system develop,
compute, relay, and introduce data into a delivery
unit, a weapon, or both. They direct, control, or
guide the weapon (destructive device) to the target,
and cause it to function in the desired way. These
units form the heart of the weapons system. Note
(fig. 6-1) that there are two groups of units in the
control unit: Fire control system, and weapons
direction system. These will be discussed in more
detail later.
Types of Control Units

The devices that perform the control functions
include:

DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS that send
target position information developed by the
detecting units to the rest of the weapons system,
and convey other data among the components of
the weapons system. Examples are synchro,
resolver, and potentiometer circuits.
COMPUTER DEVICES to process the input
data from the detecting units and other sources, and
put out the aiming and program instructions that
cause the weapon to reach its target. Examples are
rangekeepers and computers.
DISPLAY UNITS that display information at
various locations on the ship. These are generally
electronic or optical devices.
DIRECTING DEVICES which, with the aid of
detecting devices, establish target location to a
finer degree than the detecting devices alone.
Directing devices can also function to directly or
indirectly control missile flight. Examples are gun
and missile directors, and radar sets.

153

REFERENCE DEVICES such as stable
elements, which establish reference planes and
lines to stabilize lines of fire, lines of sight, and
other references. These units are gyroscopically
controlled.

DELIVERY UNITS

Broadly speaking, delivery units launch or
project destructive units toward the target.
Examples are guns, missile and rocket launchers,
torpedo tubes, and depth charge projectors. Don't
think of these devices as weapons. The term
WEAPON is properly applied to the destructive
unit that is launched or projected. Thus a guided
missile launcher is not, strictly speaking, a weapon;
the missile itself is the weapon.
To be employed effectively against their targets,
all weapons must either be aimed at their targets or
must be programmed during flight. They may
require both aiming and programming.
Programming is the process of setting automatic
equipment to perform operations in a
predetermined step-by-step manner. Aiming and
programming are done at or before the time of
launching, either by or through the delivery device.
This function is characteristic of all delivery
devices, even the simplest. Aiming the destructive
device (weapon) at the target may be done simply
by positioning the delivery device (a gun barrel or
launcher guide arm, for example). Or it may be
done without aiming the delivery device, by
placing program instructions in the weapon. Some
missiles are programmed to start searching for the
target after the launching phase is over. Examples
of other programmed functions that could be
performed in the weapon are ignition of propulsion
units and arming of the warhead after a designated
number of seconds of flight.

Types of Delivery Devices

Guns direct (aim) the projectiles by positioning
the gun barrels, and the propulsion energy is
provided by the propellant charge, which may be a
separate component as in bag guns and semi-fixed
ammunition, or enclosed in the powder case which
is crimped to the projectile.
MISSILE LAUNCHERS retain and position
missiles during the initial part of the launching
phase, and, by means of attachments to the
launcher, feed steering, vertical reference, and
program information into the missile up to the
instant of launch. Of course there are other types of
delivery devices, such as torpedo tubes,
depth charge and thrown weapon projectors, and
rocket launchers. But guns, and missile and rocket
launchers are most important to you as a GMM.
You will be required to understand their function in
the weapons system. The GMGs are responsible
for operation of depth charge and thrown weapon
projectors, rocket launchers, and the Basic Point
Defense Surface Missile System. When you are
ready for E-8 you will need to know about those
also, so do not evade learning about them as you go
along. Use your opportunities for learning.

DESTRUCTIVE UNITS

The end purpose of detection units, delivery
units, and control units is to cause the destruction
unit to intercept or pass near the target. It is then
the function of the destruction unit to destroy or
inflict maximum damage on the target. Except for
projectiles used in small arms, and some of those
used in calibers up to 40-mm, weapons and
projectiles used in combat are loaded with
explosives, and equipped with devices to set off
their explosion at the proper time. For some
weapons and projectiles, the proper time is the
instant the weapon makes physical contact with the
target. For those designed to penetrate targets
protected by armor or concrete, the proper time is
after penetration. Still others are intended to
explode when they reach the vicinity of the target.
In some special types, the explosive is intended
only to rupture the container so the contents can be
disseminated in the area selected. Examples of
these are various types of gas bombs (lethal or
merely disabling), biological warheads, and various
chemical warheads. In these types, the explosive is
not the destructive force.

BASIC WEAPON COMPONENTS

All weapons and projectiles have these
components.
1. A CONTAINER or BODY which houses the
internal components. The body may have such
other functions as piercing armor, breaking up into
high velocity fragments when the weapon or
projectile explodes, or improving the weapon's
ballistic characteristics by means of fins or
streamlining.
2. A DETONATING DEVICE (called a fuze,
exploder, detonator, etc.) which initiates explosion
at the proper time, and includes safety devices to
prevent premature explosion.

154

3. A PAYLOAD which is the "reason for being"
of the weapon or projectile. The payload usually
consists of high explosive or nuclear material.
Exceptions were mentioned above as special types.
Weapons of some types have their own
propulsion systems. The outstanding examples are
guided missiles, torpedoes, and rockets. With the
exception of rockets, weapons that have a
propulsion system also contain guidance and
control systems.
To summarize the weapons system concept, we
can say that any weapons system contains four
major functional components, which are
interrelated to make up the system as a whole (fig.
6-1).

REPRESENTATIVE SHIPBOARD
WEAPONS SYSTEM

The equipments making up each of the four
categories of functional components are enclosed
in separate blocks (fig. 6-1). We will introduce and
discuss the four groups of equipments in the order
in which they operate to solve the fire control
problem.

TARGET DETECTION, LOCATION,
AND IDENTIFICATION UNITS

The first contact with an airborne target is
usually made by air search radar. These radars are
designed to keep a large aerial volume under nearly
continuous observation. Jet aircraft travel at high
speed, and may launch guided missiles against our
ships from a great distance. This requires that our
radar search be carried out to long range. To cover
the necessary area, search radar uses a wide beam.
In addition, most search radar antennas rotate as
they search. Targets detected during this scanning
process show up on the radar's target display
indicators as alternately fading and brightening
spots. It is difficult to determine target range,
course, and speed from these spots. All of these
factors limit the accuracy with which search radar
can provide information about target position. For
target information of the required accuracy, we
must depend on fire control radars. We will discuss
these radars later in this chapter.
After the search radar has detected a target and
determined its approximate location, the next step
in the development of the fire control problem
is to identify the target. The problem of
recognizing and identifying a friend or foe is as old
as warfare. Passwords, flag hoist signals, and even
the uniforms we wear are identification devices
that have been developed through the years.

In modern warfare the identification problem is
urgent. Radar systems present targets in the form of
spots or spikes (called echoes) on a radar screen;
but friendly and enemy targets look alike on the
screen. Furthermore, high speed planes and guided
missiles give us very little time to solve this
problem. And when friendly fighter aircraft pursue
enemy planes to within gun range of our ships, the
identification problem is acute.

The safety of ships in a task force is another
phase of this problem. If the enemy were able to
use our identification system, he could make
deadly approaches before his presence were
known. In the past, enemy planes have actually
followed our fighters to their mother ship and
discovered the location of the carrier and her
escorts. In such an instance the destruction of the
enemy planes is vital, so that the location of the
fleet will not be revealed.

Before we leave the subject of the major
equipments that fall in the category of detection,
location, and identification units, we want to
emphasize that solution of the fundamental fire
control problem begins with detection of a target.
The next step is to locate it. And the final step in
this initial phase is to identify it as friend or foe.
These three steps combine to form the first phase in
the functioning of a weapon system. At this point
you should begin to see that you must think in
terms of a complete weapons system in order to
understand the functioning of each individual
component in the system.

In the discussion above we have considered only
air targets. Surface targets and underwater targets
must also be detected and identified, and their
location determined. A search radar is used to scan
the area for surface targets; sonar is used for the
detection of underwater targets.

Now let's consider the CONTROL UNITS in
group (2) (fig. 6-1). These are not the control
panels we described in chapter 5, which control
only the missile launching system.

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CONTROL UNITS IN A WEAPONS
SYSTEM (THE WEAPONS CONTROL
SYSTEM)

Once the air search radar detects and roughly
locates the target, and the IFF equipment has
determined whether it is a friend or foe, the target
information from these sources is sent to the
equipments that we have called control units.
These units include fire control radars, computers,
weapon direction equipment, stable elements, and
many other mechanical, electrical, and electronic
instruments.

Traditionally, the systems of equipment used for
the control of a particular battery of guns,
torpedoes, or other conventional weapons, have
been known as fire control systems. But the
complexity of guided missiles has required the
introduction of new fire control instruments, and
new terms of describe them. In the following
paragraphs we will define some of these terms.

All of the units that are enclosed by the solid line
in block (2) of figure 6-1 form a WEAPONS
CONTROL SYSTEM. A weapons control system
is defined as a group of interconnected and
interrelated instruments that are used to control the
delivery of effective fire on selected targets. The
system is composed of a WEAPONS DIRECTION
SYSTEM and one or more Fire Control Systems. It
includes all the equipment necessary to control
target assignment for guns, missiles, and ASW
weapons.

Weapons Direction System

Any WEAPONS SYSTEM begins to function as
a system as soon as a target is detected. A FIRE
CONTROL SYSTEM however, begins its
functioning by determining target position with all
possible precision, so that a line of fire can be
established. Before a fire control system can
establish a line of fire, certain preliminary
processes must take place within the weapons
system. These processes are:

1. Detection of a target by search radar or other
devices.
2. Identification of the target by IFF or other
devices.
3. Evaluation of the target.
4. Designation of the target to a fire control
system.
5. Acquisition of the target by a fire control
system.
The weapons direction system coordinates and
monitors the operations of the missile launching
system and the fire control systems.
The target position and identification
information obtained during the first two processes
is sent to the CIC (Combat Information Center),
and to the WCS (Weapons Control Station, Fig. 5-
7). These two organizations of equipment and
personnel may be in the same compartment or in
separate locations (fig. 5-8). Here, we will consider
them to be in the same compartment. This
compartment also contains the units that make up
part of the Weapons Direction System (WDS).
This particular group of equipments is known
collectively as Weapons Direction Equipment
(WDE). The WDE, and minor units that support its
function, make up the Weapons Direction System
of a ship.
The purpose of the WDS is to perform those
functions that are required during three phases of a
tactical situation. During the first phase, the
equipment provides electronic means for the
display of targets detected by search radars, and it
provides devices for selecting and initially tracking
the targets that show up on the displays. These
displays are similar to the PPIs that you are
familiar with or have read about in Basic
Electronics, NavPers 10087-B. Targets show up as
bright pips or dots on the face of the scope.
As the tactical situation develops, and the targets
get closer, the system provides means for
evaluating the situation and assigning a fire control
system or systems to acquire and track designated
targets. This is the second phase in the tactical
situation. The third and last phase requires that
weapons be assigned by the WDS to the fire
control system that is tracking the target. Before
weapons are assigned, the tactical situation must be
reevaluated.
EVALUATION. - So far in this discussion, we
have introduced three new terms: evaluation,
designation, and acquisition.
In fire control, evaluation is concerned with
these questions.
1. What does the target intend to do? Is it going
to pass close to the ship for observing, or is it going
to launch an attack?
2. How threatening to the ship's safety is the
target? If its obvious intent is to attack, how much
time does the ship have to launch a counterattack?
And what weapons should the ship use to repulse
the target?
3. What kind of attack is the target capable of
launching? If the target carries missiles, the ship
must launch weapons that will reach the target
before it can launch its missiles.

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There are other factors involved in evaluating a
tactical situation, but these sample questions should
give you some idea of what the term "evaluate"
means.
The equipment in the weapons direction system I
presents a complete visual picture of the tactical
situation, It displays all the targets that have been
detected by the search radars. Each target must be
evaluated with respect to the overall defense
picture. The process of target evaluation is
performed by ship's personnel with the help of
equipment in the WDS, Decisions are made to
bring the ship's weapons to bear on the most
threatening targets. These selected targets must be
assigned to the appropriate fire control systems.
The assignment process includes two functions -
designation and acquisition.
DESIGNATION. This is the step taken to assign
the tracking element (director, radar, radar set) of a
fire control system to a particular target. On the
basis of target evaluation and the availability of fire
control systems (some of which may be disabled,
or busy with other targets), decision is made to
assign a fire control system to the target. This is
usually done by pressing a button to activate
circuitry that transmits target position information
from the weapons direction system to the antenna
positioning circuits of a radar set, or the power
drives of a director. These units automatically
move the radar antenna to the position designated
by the WDS. If the designation data is inaccurate
the radar set must search for the target.
The searching process may last for a fraction of
a second or longer, depending on the accuracy of
the designation information and other factors. Once
the fire control radar has found the target and starts
to track, it can be said that it has acquired the
target.
ACQUISITION. Acquisition by the tracking
device is the process of accepting a designation
from the WDS equipment which acquired the
target, and starting to track it. A target is acquired
when the radar has "gated" it, or the crosshairs in
the director sights are on it.
In the preceding discussion we indicated that the
WDS was further subdivided into the weapons
direction equipment, and other equipment related
to the overall function of the weapons direction
system.

Fire Control Systems

A ship may have several fire control systems,
depending on the number and type of weapons
aboard. It may also have more than one missile
or gun fire control system, or a combination of
both. In addition, the ship may also have an
underwater battery fire control system.
Missile fire control systems include directors,
radars, and computers. The major functions of
these components include tracking of the
designated target, transmission of the target data to
the weapons direction system, aiming of the
launcher, and guidance of the missile to the target.
The GMM does not operate the fire control
equipment but he needs to have some knowledge
of what is taking place so he can cooperate
intelligently with the FTs.

DELIVERY UNITS

Chapter 5 described the delivery units
(launchers) for Terrier, Talos, Tartar, and Standard
missiles. The launchers for Asroc Launching
Group Mk 16 which incorporates the Asroc
Launcher Mk 112, is the responsibility of GMTs
and is not described in this text. Shipboard gun
systems may include 3-inch, 5-inch, and 8-inch
guns. These are the concern of the GMGs, but you
need to know about them when your chance comes
to make E-7 or E-8.

DESTRUCTION UNITS

A typical weapons system has gun projectiles
and one type of missile; larger ships have more
than one size and type of projectiles and two or
more types of missiles. The different missile
rounds of the Navy are described in other chapters
of this text; other naval ordnance is described in
Basic Military Requirements, NavPers 10054-C,
with which you should be familiar.
In the following articles we shall describe the
units that make up the weapons direction system.

TYPICAL WEAPONS DIRECTION
EQUIPMENT

Some of the major tasks performed by the
weapons direction equipment (WDE) are director-
to-target assignment, launcher-to-director
assignment, salvo select, missile warmup, missile
firing, and emergency and dud firing. The WDE is
the link between the search radars and the fire
control system.
It is worth repeating that the weapons direction
equipment includes displays and controls for the
evaluation of target data, and for the selection and
engagement of targets so as to ensure the

157

most effective use of the gun and missile batteries.
A typical WDE consists of one or more Target
Selection and Tracking consoles, a Director
Assignment console, a Weapon Assignment
console, and the necessary cabinets to house power
supplies and computer units.

TARGET SELECTION AND
TRACKING CONSOLE

Figure 6-2A shows a typical target selection and
tracking console. Regardless of the mark or
modification, they all have the same general shape.
The console is used for selecting and tracking
targets detected by search radars. The principal
indicator on a console of this type is a PPI (Plan
Position Indicator) fig. 6-2B), that displays the
bearing and slant range of all targets picked up by a
selected search radar. The primary controls are a
pantograph arm for selecting and tracking targets,
and pushbuttons for assigning target-to-tracking
channels. Other controls are provided for selecting
various search radars for the PPI display, for
selecting certain range scales, and for inserting
target position and rate of movement data into the
tracking channels.
Targets are displayed on the scope as radar video
(pips). To select a target and assign it to a tracking
channel, you position the pantograph sighting ring
(fig. 6-2B) over the target pip and then press a
channel button. Pressing the button gains electrical
access to that channel, and simultaneously causes
an identifying channel letter to appear next to the
target pip. Successive corrections of pantograph
position develop target course and speed data that
are inserted into the tracking channels.

DIRECTOR ASSIGNMENT CONSOLE

The primary purpose of this console is to
provide the information display and controls
required to assign fire control systems to the targets
being tracked by the target selection and tracking
console operator, when it is determined that a
specific target or targets should be engaged. Figure
6-3 shows the panel layout of the director
assignment console for our basic WDE. Two plots
are provided on the face of the console - a plan plot
on the left, and a multipurpose plot on the right.
The plan plot (fig. 6-3A) Shows three range
rings, and indicates true bearing with north at the
top. Each target being tracked by that target
selection and tracking console operator appears on

158

the display as a letter, corresponding to the tracking
channel from which it originates. The figure shows
that tracking channels A, B, and C are tracking
three separate search radar targets. The straight line
associated with target A indicates the course and
speed of this target. The number 1 indicates the
position of the radar set in the basic fire control
system. If the weapons control system had more
than one fire control system, these additional
system s would have associated numerals. A ship's
heading marker, and radial clearance lines on either
side of it, are presented electronically and rotate
when the ship changes course. The sector between
the two clearance lines indicates the region into
which we may not launch missiles because of
danger of striking the ship's superstructure.
The multipurpose plot (fig. 6-3B) is used
primarily for making time comparisons. These
comparisons help the operator to decide which of
several targets to designate to a director, and to
plan the future handling of targets that cannot be
assigned immediately. Once the radar set acquires
the target and begins to track it, the fire control
system is busy solving the missile fire control
problem. During this time the operator, with the aid
of the information displayed on the plot, can decide
which target is next in line for assignment to a
tracking radar set.
The multipurpose plot is also used to indicate the
speed and height of targets that are being tracked
by the tracking channels. As you can see in figure
6-3B, it is divided into three vertical lines - each
line representing a tracking channel. All changes in
indications take place vertically, and you can read
the values indicated as you would read a
thermometer.
The vertical lines show, for each target, the time
within which the radar set must be assigned and a
missile fired in order to intercept the target before
it can reach its Estimated Weapon Release Range
(EWRR). The EWRR will vary, depending on the
type of payload the enemy is carrying and on how
accurately you guess what the payload is. This
estimate range is manually inserted into the DAC
and affects the length of the channel time line. The
director symbol and time line (fig. 6-3B) comes
into play only after the director is

159

assigned. As this line decreases to zero level, it
indicates the time left in which you have to make a
target intercept at the maximum effective range of
your system before he (the target) reaches the
release range of his weapon. (For example, if you
guess that the target's payload is an air-to-surface
beam-rider missile, the EWRR might be on the
order of 25,000 yards. At the left of the plot you
can read how much time you have to assign the
radar set so that it can acquire the target, track it,
solve the problem, and load and fire a missile
salvo, and have the missiles intercept the target
before the target can release its missiles. This
points up the need for quick evaluation. In
conjunction with the plan plot, the multipurpose
plot provides the necessary information to speed up
this process. It relieves the human operator of the
necessity of remembering how much average time
each component in the weapon system requires to
perform its function under varying conditions.
The scale used to measure assignment time is
also used with the height line. The height line is a
short horizontal bar which moves up and down the
vertical channel line as target altitude changes (fig.
6-3B). In this case the number represents thousands
of feet. To the right of the display is a target speed
scale (marked knots) which is used in conjunction
with the speed circle. The speed circle rides up and
down to indicate target speed.
The long horizontal line shown in this plot
represents busy time for the radar set. When the
radar set is not acquiring or tracking, the time line
and director symbol number rest at zero time. But
when the radar set is assigned a target, the time line
and symbol move up to indicate the time during
which the set will be busy with that target; they
slowly move down as time elapses. After a missile
salvo is launched, the line and symbol continue to
move downward until they reach zero. The missile
should then have intercepted the target, and the
radar set is ready to be assigned a new target.
Above the two display plots is a field of lamps
relating to the gun and missile fire control system.
The lamp with the numeral 1 in it is called the
BUSY lamp. (If our basic weapon control system
had more than one fire control system, each of
them would be represented by a different lamp and
number.) The BUSY lamp is sighted whenever the
radar set is assigned a target. The IND lamp is
lighted when the radar set is operating
INDependently of the weapon direction equipment,
as in tracking drill
or radar calibration exercises. The TRACK lamp
indicates that the assigned target is gated and is
being tracked. The KILL lamp lights when a target
has been destroyed. The observation of the kill is
usually visual.

The FCS NON-OP lamp indicates that some part
of the fire control system is not in operation. When
missiles are launched, the SALVO-IN-FLIGHT
lamp lights. If another salvo is ordered to be fired,
the FIRE-AGAIN lamp lights to indicate that this
order has been sent to the weapon assignment
console, but that the salvo has not yet been fired.

The pushbuttons at the lower left labeled
DESIGNATE FROM, and the pushbutton at the
lower right labeled DESIGNATE TO FCS, are
used in making assignments of the radar set to one
of the three tracking channels, A, B, or C. The
operator makes the assignments by simultaneously
pressing the selected' 'designate from" button and
the "designate to FCS" button until both lights
function. This process connects the radar set to the
selected tracking channel and slews the radar set
automatically onto the target. At this time the radar
repeat-back symbol moves until it is superimposed
on the track channel symbol. This indicates to the
director assignment console operator that the radar
is tracking the proper target.

WEAPONS ASSIGNMENT CONSOLE

The Weapons Assignment Console (WAC), is
designed to operate with the fire control system
and launcher. It displays data from the fire control
system, giving the target's present and predicted
intercept positions, and information from the
computer indicating whether or not missile
intercept is possible. It also has a summary display
of launcher information.
The missile firing key is located on the weapon
assignment console. Decision of whether or not to
fire is made from this station. The target may be
out of range, for example, and this information
would be shown on the console.
The console has a cathode-ray tube display
showing a horizontal plot and true bearing, with
own ship's position in the center. Around this plot
is a fixed bearing ring. Radial lines from the center
to the edge of the plot, generated electronically,
indicate launcher unclear areas caused by ship's
heading. These lines rotate with changes in ship's
heading. This display is similar to the plan plot of
the director assignment console (fig. 6-3A).

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The other indications on the cathode-ray tube
display appear only while the fire control system is
tracking a target. These indications are:

1. An "X" indicating target present position.
2. A small circle indicating target future position
at the predicted point of intercept.
3. A large circle about the center, which
indicates the maximum range the missile can reach
at the target's predicted altitude at intercept.
4. A thermometer type display at the left hand
edge of the plot, giving the target's predicted
altitude at intercept (H).

LOCATION AND OPERATION
OF CONSOLES

Directors, gun mounts, and missile launchers are
mounted on the deck; search radars are above the
deck. Normally, missile directors are not manned
and have no optical tracking equipment. Full radar
control is the only type of operation possible. There
are no provisions for local operation in the director
although the radar operator can position the
director from the radar console. In both gun and
missile directors, the optics and radar antenna are
stabilized to a varying degree. Target data are
transmitted to the computer.
Optics are used chiefly for gunfire control.
Gunsights, gunsight telescopes, lead-computing
sights, and optical rangefinders are examples.
Figure 5-8 shows the shipboard location of
missile system components on three types of ships,
CAG, CLG, and DLG. The search radars, high up
on the ship's superstructure, scan the surrounding
sea and sky for targets for all types of weapons.
They transmit target data to the weapon direction
equipment where the signals appear on the scopes,
to be interpreted by the operators. The computer
converts the radar signals for presentation on the
PPI-scope (fig. 6-2).
In case of casualty to the primary search radar, a
secondary source of target information may be
available from other search radars. (Not all ships
have a secondary source.)
If there are multiple targets, which is likely to be
the case in an attack, the threat of each target must
be evaluated. With today's supersonic planes,
missiles, and swift ships and submarines, the time
to make decisions is very limited, and a weapon
director must be assigned very quickly to the most
threatening target. The technicians
and officers in CIC study the target's indications
and movements even before the target video
signals show on the weapon direction equipment,
A target tracking radar is quickly assigned to
pinpoint the location of the target, determine its
speed, and height (for air targets). This information
enables the weapons officer to determine which
weapon is best suited to engage the target, and a
director is assigned, either a gun director or a
missile director. The positions of the targets in the
tracking channels are transmitted continuously to
the director assignment console. The console
operator evaluates the targets on the basis of this
information and assigns a fire control system. The
weapon assignment console has charge of launcher
assignment and selection of the missile. This time
of missile firing is very important since we must
strike for missile intercept before the target reaches
its release point, and releases its own missile. This
means that loading time must be precisely
controlled. Each GMM must do his job with speed
and precision.
Missiles must have a certain warmup period
before being fired; but it must not be too long, or
the electronic balance will be upset by the heat
generated within the missile. This means that the
missile cannot be energized well in advance of the
expected launch. The WAC operator must make a
decision as to when to begin warmup.

A TYPICAL FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM

Gunfire control systems are adequately covered
in the preceding chapters. In chapter 2 we
discussed basic gun fire control principles and the
elements of gun fire control systems; therefore
these systems and equipments will not be discussed
in detail here. In this section we will discuss only
the equipments that make up the fire control
system of a typical guided missile ship.
Look again at figure 6-1. We have assumed that
the fire control system shown in the illustration is
capable of controlling gun and missile batteries at
the same time. This is a valid assumption because
there are systems of this type in the fleet - Tartar,
for example.
The fundamental fire control problem contains
three basic elements - a line of sight, a prediction
angle, and a line of fire. The line of sight is
established optically or by radar, using a director or
a radar set. A fire control computer produces the
prediction angle in the form of gun and missile

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orders. These orders are transmitted to the guns and
missile launchers to position these equipments
along their respective lines of fire. The above
statements indicate that there are two basic
equipments needed to solve the fire control
problem when guns and missiles are used as
weapons. These two equipments are a director and
a computer. You might add another instrument -
the stable elements, but its function is sometimes
performed by a device included in the director. So
we can say that a complete fire control system
contains a director, a computer, and a stable
element which mayor may not be a separate unit.
When separate, the computer and the stable
element (fig. 6-4) always operate as a pair.
Directors, gun mounts, and missile launchers,
mounted on the deck, measure their position with
respect to the deck plane. Ship's roll and pitch are
independent of target position, and therefore affect
all measurement of target's position and motion.
Stabilization is needed to keep the line of sight on
target and the line of fire on an aiming point in
space. Corrections are needed by the computer for
LOS and LOF.

FUNCTIONS AND PROBLEMS OF
FIRE CONTROL

Any combined gun and missile fire control
system has four primary basic functions: to acquire
and track targets; to develop launcher, gun, and
missile orders; to guide missiles to the target; and,
in some instances, to detonate the missile warhead.
Secondary functions of the system are to provide
target information such as target speed, target
course, range to the target, and system and weapon
status information to the display units of the
weapon direction system. This information is used
to evaluate the tactical situation and to aid in the
fire control system and weapon assignment

The Director or Radar Set

The director or radar set is the eyes of the fire
control system. It can search for, detect, acquire,
and track a target; and it can "capture" and guide a
missile. At this point let's stop and consider the
terms "director" and "radar set." There may be
some confusion in your mind as to their exact
meaning. The equipments perform the same
functions in the weapon system, but they have
different physical arrangements. A director
contains a radar and/or optics for tracking and
ranging, and it is usually manned

(in gun or gun/missile fire control). A radar set has
no optical tracking device or rangefinder. It is not
manned in the sense that a man is located inside the
antenna supporting structure. True, there is an
operator in the radar control room; but his primary
function is to monitor the equipment and make sure
it is functioning properly.

In the rest of this chapter we will use the term
"radar set," rather than director, because that name
has been given to the newer equipments that
perform the same function as a director.

The radar set described here, and illustrated in
figure 6-1, is an automatic-tracking gunfire control
and missile guidance radar. It receives target
designation data from the weapon direction
equipment, and uses this information to acquire and
track a designated target. If guns alone are used to
fire on the target, the radar set tracks the target to
provide information needed to solve the gunfire
control problem. If guided missiles are used, the
radar not only tracks the target

162

but transmits radar signals to capture the missile
and guide it to the target (if it is a beam- rider or a
command guidance missile).
Of course, as we have mentioned before, the
radar set performs all these functions
simultaneously if guns and missiles are used at the
same time. Also, it can operate as a search radar if
circumstances require.
The radar set can transmit simultaneously, on a
common nutation axis (fig. 4-3), three distinct
beams of radar energy-the tracking, capture, and
guidance beams. A narrow tracking beam first
acquires and tracks the target automatically. The
wide angle capture beam captures the missile after
launch, and holds it until it enters the narrow
guidance beam (fig. 4-19) that guides it to the
target. The capture and guidance beams are
transmitted simultaneously; the missile
distinguishes between the two because they are
coded differently.
The radar set consists of two major groups of
equipment: an antenna group, and a control and
power group. The antenna group, which is located
above deck, consists of a pedestal upon which are
mounted the antenna and the necessary electrical
and mechanical components required to stabilize
and position the antenna. Housed inside the
mechanical structure of the antenna group are the
transmitting, receiving, and associated microwave
circuits. Here, too, are located the gyroscopes that
space-stabilize the antenna, and thus the radar
beams, to compensate for the roll and pitch of the
ship.
The control and power equipment group is
located belowdecks in a compartment usually
called the radar room. This room contains the radar
consoles used to operate, monitor, and control the
radar set. Also located in the radar room are the
cabinets containing the power supplies that provide
the operating voltages for the various units in the
radar set.

Typical Gun and Missile Computer

The typical gun and guided missile fire control
computer described here is an electromechanical
type designed to operate automatically. No
operating personnel are needed. It is located in the
ship's plotting room, and is used with the radar set
described previously. The computer is a dual
ballistic computer. In other words, it solves the gun
and missile fire control problems simultaneously.
The computer has three basic ways of operating.
It can operate when designation is desired; then,
after the radar set has acquired
the designated target, the computer aids the radar
set in tracking it. As soon as the guns and/or
missiles have destroyed the target, the computer
shifts to the air-ready method of operation. These
different methods of operating are called modes.
The various modes of computer operation can be
briefly described as follows:
AIR-READY MODE.-In this mode the
computer is energized, but is receiving no
information. It generates orders only to put the
radar set, launcher, and guns in predetermined air-
ready positions. For example, the air-ready position
of the radar set may be at zero of train and 45 of
elevation; the launcher air-ready position may be at
180 of train and zero of elevation.
DESIGNATION MODE. - The computer goes
into this mode of operation when it receives a
"director assigned" signal from the director
assignment console of the WDE. The computer
directs the radar set to the designated target
position so that the radar line of sight will point at
the target. It also sends a search program to the
radar set. The search program causes the radar
beams to move in a preset pattern about the
designated target position. The radar searches for
the target, and when the target is gated the
computer automatically goes into the track mode of
operation.
TRACK MODE. - When the radar set acquires
the target in range, bearing, and elevation, the track
mode starts. The radar set then transmits an on-
target signal to the computer. The computer sends
signals to the radar set that cause it to drive at a
rate that will keep it locked on the target. The
computer determines the proper lead angles for the
launcher and guns, and transmits these quantities to
them in the form of electrical signals. These signals
drive the guns and launcher to the proper aiming
positions.
Before the missiles are launched, the computer
determines and transmits to the missiles quantities
that move the missile gyros to their proper
positions. The computer also transmits, to the
various display consoles of the WDE, tactical data
such as present target position, future target
position, and missile time to target intercept (time
of flight).

DELIVERY UNITS IN A TYPICAL
WEAPONS SYSTEM

The delivery units of a typical weapons system
are the gun mounts and the missile launcher. This
section sums up operation of a typical

163

missile launcher and the equipments associated
with it. Guns are covered in Military Requirements
for PO 3&2, NavPers 10056-B, and Seaman,
NavPers 10120-E.

Guided Missile Launching System

The guided missile launcher shown in figure 6-5
is part of a group of equipments that are known
collectively as a Guided Missile Launching
System. A guided missile launching system has
three major components:

1. Guided missile launcher
2. Guided missile launcher feeder
3. Guided missile launching system control
The primary purpose of a guided missile
launching system is to stow missiles until needed
and then supply them to a launcher for firing. Its
secondary function is to remove unfired missiles
from the launcher and return them to the missile
stowage area (or jettisoning them in case of
dangerous misfire or a dud). In missile
replenishment, too, the launching system
equipment is used to strike the missiles below to
the magazine, or to bring them up for unloading.

GUIDED MISSILE LAUNCHER. - All Navy
missiles that are launched from ships (not including
submarines) use short rail launchers. (These
launchers are commonly called Zero Length
launchers.) This type has one or two, usually two,
launcher arms (or rails). The launcher shown in
figure 6-5 is the dual-rail type. It receives

164

and secures two complete missiles - one on each
launcher arm... The launcher automatically trains
and elevates in response to synchro signals (missile
launcher orders) from the fire control computer.
Through electrical connections on the launcher
arms, the missiles (except Standard) receive
warmup power before launch. Warmup power is
used to bring the missile gyros up to speed, and to
warm up the vacuum tubes, without taking power
from the missile power supplies. Preflight
information is also supplied to the weapon through
contactors in the launcher arms, and the firing
circuit is connected through the launcher to the
missile's internal firing circuitry. The launcher can
automatically return to a predetermined fixed
position in which a new missile can be loaded on
the launcher arm, or an unfired missile can be
returned to stowage.

GUIDED MISSILE LAUNCHER FEEDER. -
The purpose of this group of equipments is to stow
guided missiles and their boosters in magazines, to
remove them from the magazines, and to load them
on the launcher arms. There are several types of
feeders, but they all have these two purposes. The
feeder described here is the most common type.
The other systems are similar in operating
principles.

The feeder consists of three functional groups of
equipment - the magazine, the loader, and the
assembler. Figure 6-5 shows the magazine area.
The main piece of equipment in the area is the
ready-service ring, in which the missile-booster
combinations are stowed. The ring can rotate like
the magazine of an automatic revolver. This
rotating motion of the ring is called "indexing."
The ring is indexed to position a missile round so
that it can be placed under the loader. The loader
provides a means for removing the missile rounds
from the ring and loading them onto the launcher
rails. Figure 6-5 shows one loader rail. Usually
there are two of them. Continuous grooves in the
rails function as tracks to support the booster shoes
during loading operations. The booster shoes are T-
shaped and horseshoe-shaped lugs. The rails of the
launcher arms are also grooved to receive these
lugs. During the loading or unloading operation,
the launcher is positioned so that the loader rail and
launcher rail form one continuous track. Missiles
are loaded onto or unloaded from the launcher by a
loader chain that is guided by a track in the loader
rail. A hook, or pawl, attached to the chain,
engages the rear shoe of the booster.
The third group of equipments that make up the
feeder is called the assembler. The assembler is
essentially a set of racks for stowage of the
aerodynamic surfaces (booster fins and missile
wings). The wings and fins are mounted on the
booster and missile manually, by men assigned to
perform this operation.

GUIDED MISSILE LAUNCHING SYSTEM
CONTROL. - This equipment group includes the
panels used to operate the missile launching
system. The power panels contain circuit breakers,
overload relays, and other electrical components
required by the various power drives that control
the movement of the launcher, rammer, and ready-
service ring. Other panels contain operating
controls that are used to start the system and
control its operation. These panels normally
respond to orders from the WDE. For example, the
WDE may send an order to ALERT the missile
launching system. An ALERT light on a panel
flashes, indicating to the operator that WDE wants
the missile launching system's equipment put into
operation. The orders transmitted from the WDE to
the missile launching system are of interest to the
GMM, for he must learn to operate the control
panel at any station in the launching system.

Types Of Orders. - The MISSILE SELECT
order is transmitted from the WDE to the launching
system to indicate the type of missile to be loaded
on the launcher. There are several types of Terrier
missiles. All of these types may be loaded together
in a single magazine. This is called mixed loading.
When the launching system has selected the type of
missiles called for by the WDE, it sends back a
signal indicating that the order has been carried
out.
The LOAD order tells the launching system to
start loading a missile or missiles. A load order
may be "continuous," "single," or "hold." A
"continuous" order causes missiles to be
continuously supplied to the launcher. This
operation is similar to "rapid or continuous fire" in
conventional gunnery. The "single" order causes
one missile per arm to be loaded on the launcher.
The "hold" order holds the launching system in a
ready-to-load condition.
When the launching system receives the
UNLOAD order, it unloads any missiles that may
be left on the launcher arms, returning the missiles
to the magazine. In some mods, this can be done in
automatic operation; in others it must be done in
step operation.
The INTENT-TO-LAUNCH (ITL) is similar to
the conventional "commence fire" order in

165

one respect- it is transmitted by closing a firing
key. But, while the gun firing circuit is completed
almost instantly when the key is closed, there is a
slight delay before a missile firing circuit is
completed. This delay is necessary to establish
certain operating conditions in the missile, and in
other equipments in the weapons system. Before
the missile can be fired, it must indicate that it is
ready to be launched. This indication, "missile-
ready-to-fire," is sent through the launching system
control circuits back to the WDE. Almost every
piece of equipment in the weapons system affects
the operation of the firing circuit, either directly or
indirectly.

Gun Battery

There are a number of situations in which a
missile is not the best weapon. The target may be
too close, or it may be too small to be worth
expending a costly missile to destroy it. The search
radars locate the targets, and the tracking radars (or
directors) track the target and pinpoint its location.
From the information shown on the display scopes
in CIC, the weapons officer must decide what
weapon to use against each target and must
transmit his orders so action will be taken at once.
Multiple targets may require the use of several
kinds of weapons simultaneously. Radars can
search and track more than one target at a time, and
certain computers are capable of solving gun and
missile fire control problems simultaneously.

DESTRUCTION UNITS IN A TYPICAL
WEAPONS SYSTEM

As we mentioned earlier in this chapter, our
typical weapons system is designed to control two
weapons, the gun (projectile) and a homing or a
beam-rider missile. These weapons have been
discussed in this book, or in the books in the
reading list. In addition to surface-launched
weapons, there are air-launched and underwater-
launched weapons. These are not discussed in this
book, but you have been given basic descriptions in
Seaman, NavPers 10120-E, and Military
Requirements for PO 3&2, NavPers 10056-B.

WEAPONS SYSTEM FUNCTIONING

To provide a brief review of what you have
studied so far in this chapter, we will list the
principal steps or phases a typical weapons
system goes through to accomplish its mission. The
mission, of course, is to destroy the enemy or a
practice target. The principal steps, in
chronological order, are:

1. TARGET DETECTION. Search radars detect
targets at long ranges, to allow time for the
weapons system to go into action and complete its
function.
2. TARGET SELECTION- From the
information supplied by the search radars, the
weapons direction system selects the targets that
appear hostile, and that require missile and/or
projectile interception, and inserts them into
tracking channels. Target selection and tracking is
performed by personnel assigned to the target
selection and tracking console-a unit of the
weapons direction equipment.
3. SEARCH RADAR TARGET TRACKING.
The tracking channels (computing circuits)
continuously track selected search radar targets to
generate target rate of movement. This data
appears as a symbol (letter) on the face of a large
cathode-ray tube (scope). When the tracking
channel has computed the correct target course,
speed, and rate, the symbol on the scope will
remain superimposed on the target echo supplied
by the search radar. This computed target position
and rate data are used for evaluation of the tactical
situation presented to the ship, and for transmission
to other units in the WDS - especially the director
assignment console. Each target that is being
tracked is assigned a different symbol to prevent
confusion.
4. EVALUATION. The weapon system
evaluates the threat of various targets, decides
which should be engaged by guns and which by
missiles, and decides which targets should be given
the priority. The evaluation is performed by
personnel, but they are aided in this process by the
displayed information on the various consoles in
the WDE and CIC.
5. DIRECTOR ASSIGNMENT. A radar set is
assigned to the target having the highest priority.
When a radar set is assigned, this implies that a fire
control system has been included in the
assignment.
6. ACQUISITION., The assigned radar set (fire
control system) gets on the target.
7. TRACKING. The fire control radar tracks the
target to provide precise target position and rate
data. The computer associated with the tracking
radar operates on the data from the radar set to
provide the solution to the fire control problem.
The computer answers are

166

supplied to the guns and launcher as synchro
signals to position these units in train and
elevation.
8. REEVALUATION AND WEAPON
ASSIGNMENT. The target that is engaged by the
fire control system is reevaluated with respect to
the tactical situation (this may have changed),
availability of the launcher or gun, and the range
limitations of the weapons.
9. LOADING. Missiles are loaded on the
launcher, and the guns are prepared for firing.
10. LAUNCHER SYNCHRONIZATION OF
MISSILE ORDER INPUTS. Synchro transmitters
and receivers are inherently "self-positioning" or
synchronizing. A synchro system is used to
transmit a training order from the director to the
launcher. The synchro transmitter, mounted on the
director and geared to it, transmits the movement
and position of the director. The dial of the synchro
receiver in the launching equipment constantly
indicates the director's position. The launcher will
train to match the receiver dial. The synchros are
connected electrically, but the launcher is moved in
train and elevation by hydraulic power. The
synchros actuate hydraulic pilot valves that actuate
and control the hydraulic system.

The launcher is capable of unlimited train
(unless located in a position where this is not
possible). The guide rails may be elevated between
-10 and +90 with respect to the deck (for Tartar
systems) though the maximum angle of fire is 85.
"Stow" and "load" positions for Terrier Mk 10
systems both are between 1 and 3 (varies with
Mod) elevation and 180 train, but Tartar systems
load and stow at 90 elevation, Latches secure the
launcher in the required load or stow position.
An ever-present problem is the limitation placed
upon firing arcs by the ship's superstructure. The
launchers guns are electrically cut out if they are
aimed at any part of the ship. The mechanical
actuator is the nonpointing zone cam, The cutout
area is referred to as the blind zone for the weapon.
An aft gun or launcher cannot fire dead ahead at
low elevation angles, and a forward gun or
launcher is cut out directly aft, except where the
gun or the launcher guide can be elevated above
the firing cutout zone.
Synchronizing networks or circuits may use
relays, diodes (semiconductor and vacuum tubes),
and gas tubes (thyratron or neon). The purpose of
the synchronizing circuit is to prevent
overspeeding of the drive where large changes are
necessary. If a large error signal is allowed
to drive the equipment at an excessive speed, and
there is a radical change of target speed or
direction, the inertia of the moving heavy
equipment could be so great as to drive past
synchronism. The time required for the launcher to
synchronize is about 5 seconds. Upon assignment,
the loaded launcher synchronizes in train and
elevation with the launcher orders generated by the
computer. The Launcher Status Console operator
supervises missile and launcher readiness, noting
that the launcher is synchronized and that missiles
are warmed up and ready to fire. The sequence of
operations is similar for all surface launched
missiles. After the missile is on the guide arm and
the blast doors are closed, the launcher train and
elevation latches retract. The launcher starts to
synchronize to the director and synchronizes to the
firing position. The salvo firing circuit is closed
and the missile is activated. The arming tool winds
and retracts, the guide arm contactor retracts and
the booster is ignited.
The missile clears the guide arm rails. Then the
missile on the other guide arm is fired. If the order
is for continuous firing, other missiles are brought
up from the magazine, the wings and fins attached,
and warmup applied. As soon as both guide rails
are empty, the launcher synchronizes to load
position, and the cycle is repeated.
11. LAUNCHING AND FIRING. The missiles
are launched at the proper time and in the proper
direction. The guns are loaded and fired.
12. MISSILE GUIDANCE. The fire control
radar guides each missile to the target being
tracked. Gun projectiles, of course, receive no
guidance.
13. TERMINAL PHASE. When a missile or
projectile approaches to within lethal range of the
target, a VT fuze detonates its destructive charges.
This is the "moment of truth" for the weapons
system.

INTERSYSTEM COMMUNICATIONS

All the information gleaned by radars and
computed by computers is of no value if it is not
available to decision-making personnel. The
information must be available instantly to officers,
petty officers, and other men who have the
knowledge and competence to interpret and apply
it. A complicated network of communications, with
duplicate equipment to take over in case of failure
or damage, is necessary to keep data transmission a
continuing process. Figure 6-6 is a simplified
schematic of the flow of data in

167
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a Terrier weapon system. Let's follow through on
the flow of data in a typical weapon system.

The search radars in figure 6-6 include a surface
search radar (AN/SPS-10), a primary search radar
with pencil-beam for long-range scanning
(AN/SPS-26), and a fan-beam radar for long-range
aircraft detection (AN/SPS-29). Targets not
identified by the radars are challenged by IFF.
Results are relayed to CIC, the Pilot House, and the
Weapons Control Station, where they are displayed
on scopes. IFF is normally controlled from CIC.
By switching at the radar distribution switchboard,
the radars can be connected directly to the target
tracking consoles. The optical designation
transmitter is used if there is failure of the search
radars or if the target is too low for detection by
search radars.

The designation equipment has a target selection
and tracking console in WCS and another in CIC.
From the information displayed on the PPI-scope,
CIC assigns tracking channels for the targets in the
order of their apparent threat. Telephone
communications are available for all
personnel in the system. so decisions and changes
can be given verbally to supplement (or replace)
pushbutton signals.
The operator of the Director Assignment
Console (in WCS), on the basis of information
from the tracking radars and director displayed on
his console, assigns a missile launcher or a gun
system +.0 a particular target.
The operator of the Weapons Assignment
Console (in WCS), studying the display of
information on his scope, selects the missile rail to
be loaded, the method of loading (single or
continuous), pushes the button that initiates
warmup power to the missile, selects the number of
missiles to be fired per salvo, and assigns the
launcher to a fire control system. He can also
cancel the launcher assignment.
At the control panel in the launcher system, the
operator watches the succession of lights and, if
anything is wrong, he immediately notifies CIC. It
may be necessary to select another missile or even
assign another launcher; the target does not wait
for repairs to be made.
The whole operation takes less time than it takes
to tell about it. Each man must be master of his job.

169

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Talos Missile Page Table of Contents Table of Contents

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